3 min readNew DelhiJul 31, 2026 10:21 PM IST
The selection of companies for receiving money from the newly created Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund followed “robust evaluation mechanisms”, “strict conflict of interest guidelines” and “merit-based selection processes”, Ministry of Science & Technology said in a statement on Friday.
This came a day after a reply by Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh in Rajya Sabha on Thursday indicated the possibility of a potential conflict of interest of members of a selection panel in the disbursement of funds from RDI scheme.
According to a written reply by the minister to a question from Rajya Sabha member Praveen Chakravarthy, seven of the 11 members of one of the selection panels had a personal investment in several of companies that had been selected for receiving funds under RDI scheme.
On Friday, the ministry sought to allay these concerns and said that none of the members of the selection panel participated in the evaluation of any company in which they had a personal interest. Any such interest was disclosed in advance, in accordance with the conflict of interest policy, it said.
“A comprehensive and robust Conflict of Interest policy is firmly in place at TDB (Technology Development Board, one of the fund managers responsible for disbursal of money from RDI fund). This policy has been followed systematically over a long period without any complaint, grievance, or irregularity reported from any quarter,” the ministry statement said.
“Prior to the commencement of the 1st Investment Committee (IC) meeting (investment committee acts as the selection panel), TDB framed detailed Pre-Investment Guidelines/Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs). These guidelines explicitly lay down the conditions under which a potential conflict of interest arises. Whenever a member has a potential conflict, the policy mandates full disclosure and complete recusal of the concerned member from all discussions and decision-making processes regarding that entity,” it said.
“TDB has strictly adhered to these guidelines in true spirit. All funding decisions were taken purely on merit as per the Implementation Guidelines of the RDI Fund, with zero involvement of any conflicted members during the evaluation or sanction process of concerned proposals,” the ministry said.
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The statement said that the government remained committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, integrity and meritocracy in supporting India’s growing research and innovation ecosystem.