#886 India’s ₹1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech

#886 India’s ₹1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech

From The Core Report by The Core

May 27, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 886

About this episode

This episode discusses India's significant investment in deep tech and its implications for research and development.

India’s ₹1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech could reshape India’s R&D, startup funding and innovation economy. In this special episode of The Core Report, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO of ANRF, on India’s biggest push yet to fund deep tech, research and development, and future technologies. Dr. Kalyanaraman explains how the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, the RDI scheme, TDB and BIRAC are backing companies and projects with patient capital, long term debt, convertibles and blended finance. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Introduction (02:00) India’s New Push to Fund Research and Deep Tech (02:30) How the First RDI Projects Were Selected (04:10) From 6G to Space Tech: What the Fund Is Backing (06:02) Ticket Sizes, Loans, and Convertible Funding (06:30) How ANRF Compares With DARPA (07:32) How ANRF Is Changing India’s Research Funding Model (08:26) Grants, Translation, and Private Sector Scale-Up (10:36) How ANRF Is Choosing Themes and Projects (12:15) Monitoring, Mentoring, and Measuring Research Outcomes (13:46) Lessons From His Experience in IBM and Microsoft (15:30) Where AI Fits Into India’s R&D Funding Push (16:50) Standout Areas…

People in this episode

Host: Govindraj Ethiraj

Guest: Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman

Topics covered

  • Deep Tech Funding
  • Research and Development
  • Innovation Economy
  • Startup Funding
  • Patient Capital
  • Technology Backing

Keywords

  • Deep Tech
  • R&D
  • Startup Funding
  • ANRF
  • DARPA
  • Patient Capital
  • Innovation
  • Technology Development
  • Funding Models

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ANRF, DARPA, TDB, BIRAC

Places: India

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