Corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to scale up research, development will be game-changer: Pradhan

New Delhi: A corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to scale up research and innovation in sunrise domains will be a "game-changer policy", Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.

The comments by the minister came following the announcement of the research corpus in the interim Budget 2024-25.

"The research corpus fund will be a game-changer policy. India's youth has now reached the stage where it has the strength and capability to meet the challenges and requirements globally besides fulfilling India's requirements. The fund will be of great help in meeting the requirements for making India an economic superpower," Pradhan told PTI.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken great interest in innovation and has always stressed upon research...it has also been highlighted in the recommendations made in the New Education Policy (NEP)," he added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced that a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will be established with 50-year interest-free loans to encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation in sunrise domains.

Presenting the interim Budget 2024-25, Sitharaman said this will be a golden era for India's tech-savvy youth.

"A corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will be established with a 50-year interest-free loan. The corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenures and low or nil interest rates," the finance minister said.

"This will encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise domains. We need to have programmes that combine the powers of our youth and technology," she added.