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The people’s newsroom

PolicyIndustry

₹1 lakh crore research scheme opens to advanced chemicals and petrochemicals

Companies working on new chemicals, petrochemicals and materials can now seek long-term funding from the Research, Development and Innovation scheme.

From the editorial desk · New DelhiPublished
The OPaL petrochemical complex at Dahej, Gujarat
The OPaL petrochemical complex at Dahej, GujaratDRajkhowa / Wikimedia

Key points

  1. Advanced chemicals, petrochemicals and materials are now a sector eligible for RDI funding.
  2. The change took effect on 8 October 2026.
  3. The scheme, launched in November 2025, has a ₹1 lakh crore corpus.

The government has added advanced chemicals, petrochemicals and materials technologies to the list of sectors that can draw money from its ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme, opening a large pool of long-term research finance to the chemicals industry.

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals proposed the change and the Department of Science and Technology, which runs the scheme, approved it. It took effect on 8 October and was announced on Wednesday.

The RDI scheme was launched in November 2025 to bring private companies into research and development. It offers long-term financing and refinancing on easy terms for high-impact projects, with the aim of speeding up the adoption of advanced technology and building self-reliance in critical and emerging sectors. The ministry said the inclusion should strengthen research in chemicals and petrochemicals and help develop home-grown technology for advanced industrial use.

Health and Chemicals Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda welcomed the decision as an important step for the industry. “This decision will give much-needed encouragement to research and innovation,” he said, adding that it would support more advanced, efficient and cheaper ways of making chemicals, petrochemical products and polymers.

The scheme has already chosen fund managers to channel money into deep-tech companies. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cited it on the same day as a way to draw private investment into research, speaking at the launch of IIT Kanpur’s fundraising campaign.

The documents