Relevance (UPSC): GS-III Science & Technology & Economy | GS-II Governance (Innovation Policy)

India has launched big missions—Semicon India, IndiaAI Mission, National Quantum Mission, Anusandhan National Research Foundation—to secure technological self-reliance. But the country spends only about 0.65% of GDP on R&D, and the private sector’s share is far below innovation leaders. Without industry putting real money into science-based, high-risk technologies—chips, AI, quantum, space, biotech, new materials, batteries—the curve will not bend.

What “Deep Tech” Needs

• Patient capital (long gestation, high failure risk).
• Labs-to-market bridges for technologies at TRL 4–7 (the “valley of death”).
• Sovereign capability in design, fab, testing, standards and critical minerals to cut import dependence.
• Demand certainty through government as the first buyer.

A 10-Point Playbook for India

1. Lift private R&D: restore weighted tax deduction for in-house research; allow a patent-box rate on deep-tech royalties.
2. Mission contracting: outcome-based, multi-year milestone grants and advance market commitments (e.g., trusted servers, secure radios, EV batteries).
3. Buy Indian, buy early: expand public procurement sandboxes and quality-cum-cost preference for compliant deep-tech products.
4. Co-invest funds: NRF-anchored Fund-of-Funds that matches venture money for semicon, quantum, climate tech.
5. Translational hubs: university prototype foundries, pilot lines and shared testing (MEMS, compound semis, battery cells).
6. Open standards: push Open RAN, Open Compute, interoperable AI stacks on Digital Public Infrastructure to avoid lock-ins.
7. Critical-minerals strategy: long-term offtake, recycling and strategic reserves for lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths.
8. Defence as engine: scale iDEX/iDEX-Prime; reserve quotas for first-time deep-tech vendors with assured orders.
9. Talent magnets: green cards for global researchers, industry PhDs, and problem statements as coursework.
10. Trust & safety by design: AI safety, cyber-resilience, export controls and secure supply chains embedded from day one.

Important Terms

• Deep tech: science-heavy, defensible IP.
• GERD: gross expenditure on R&D.
• Advance Market Commitment (AMC): guarantees a future buyer for a product meeting set specs.
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): scale from concept to market-ready product.
• Patent-box: reduced tax rate on IP-derived income.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): open tech rails for interoperability.

Exam Hook

Connect innovation policy with economic security: show how public missions + private R&D, procurement pull, and standards create a self-reliant deep-tech base.

Key Takeaways

• India’s missions are strong; the weak link is low private R&D and shallow labs-to-market pipelines.
• Use tax, co-investment, procurement and standards to crowd-in domestic capital.
• Build pilot lines, testing, and minerals strategy to reduce technology import risks.

Using in the Mains Exam

Structure as: Context (missions & low GERD) → Why deep tech is different → 10-point playbook → Outcomes (jobs, security, exportability). Cite missions (IndiaAI, Quantum, NRF, Semicon) and instruments (AMCs, patent-box, iDEX).

UPSC Mains Question

“Deep tech cannot be built by government grants alone.” Discuss a policy mix—tax, procurement, standards, finance and talent—to raise private R&D and de-risk the labs-to-market journey in India.

UPSC Prelims Practice

With reference to innovation policy, consider:

1. GERD measures total R&D spend by government, industry and higher education.
2. Advance Market Commitment guarantees a future buyer for a product that meets set specs.
3. iDEX supports defence startups through challenge grants and procurement.

Answer: 1, 2 and 3.

One-line wrap: Match big public missions with bigger private bets—only then will India turn deep tech from promise into power.