Govt Releases First Cheques Under $12.2B RDI Fund, Five Deep Tech Startups Make the Cut

Deal Summary

The Indian government, via the Technology Development Board, disbursed the first tranche of the $12.2B Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme to five deep‑tech startups—Dhruva Space, Endure Air Systems, ETRNL Energy, Noccarc Robotics and IISTEM Research. Dhruva Space secured $12.8M and IISTEM Research received $6.1M, with the remaining firms also receiving funding under low‑interest loan, equity or hybrid structures. This marks the inaugural use of the scheme to de‑risk private innovation at the prototype‑to‑product stage.