A government fund meant to fuel India’s deep-tech ambitions now faces uncomfortable questions about who exactly decides where the money goes. The Technology Development Board (TDB) acknowledged this week that conflicts of interest among its expert panellists cannot be eliminated, framing the situation as something to contain rather than cure.
The admission lands just days after Parliament received formal confirmation that several members of the TDB’s Investment Committee hold financial ties to companies they helped approve for public financing. The disclosure, made on July 30 in response to a Rajya Sabha query from Congress MP Praveen Chakravarthy, triggered a wave of scrutiny over how the country allocates its ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
TDB Secretary Rajesh Pathak addressed the controversy directly on Friday. “When we were formulating guidelines, it was clear that conflict of interest was unavoidable because experts will almost certainly have direct or indirect financial connections to the innovation ecosystem,” he stated. The board views this not as a disqualifying flaw but as a manageable reality governed by strict protocols.
Those protocols carry teeth. All committee members must disclose any financial interest in firms under review and physically leave the room during related discussions. A simple majority vote no longer suffices: with eleven voting members, any funding decision requires a supermajority of at least eight approvals. Companies where panellists serve as promoters or board directors face automatic rejection, no matter their technical merit. Indirect stakes held through investment funds may, however, pass muster.
The Investment Committee itself features prominent industry figures. Dr. Saurabh Srivastava chairs the panel, joined by executives from Tata Industries and other major firms. According to the parliamentary disclosure, Dr. Srivastava’s affiliated organizations had previously funded eight applicant companies, including Noccarc Robotics, Dhruva Space, and BigEndian Semiconductors. Similar overlaps appeared for other members: K.R.S. Jamwal’s network touched seven firms, while Sanjay Nayak’s connected to Ather Energy and Tejas Networks.
The stakes extend well beyond optics. The RDI Fund represents a deliberate push to bridge the long-term capital gap for high-risk technologies at Technology Readiness Level 4 and above, encompassing sectors from biotech to artificial intelligence and the energy transition. Rather than direct government handouts, the mechanism channels money through Second-Level Fund Managers like TDB and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, which evaluate and finance eligible startups using loans, equity, and hybrid instruments.
As additional fund managers join the programme, the pressure to prove that these guardrails actually work will only intensify.
