New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- The central government's Rs.1 trillion Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund has selected 19 second-level fund managers (SLFMs) in its first cohort, according to the Ministry of Science & Technology.

A second-level fund manager receives money from the government's RDI Fund and deploys it to fund startups and companies developing new technologies. The capital can be provided through low-interest loans or equity investments. These fund managers include alternative investment funds (AIFs), non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and focused research organisations (FROs), such as IIT research parks.

The Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), at a meeting held on 8 October 2026, approved 14 AIFs and five FROs,...