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Giving impetus to research, development and innovation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 20,000 crore to the Ministry of Science and Technology (S&T) for Research, Development and Innovation initiative in the Union Budget 2025-26, aimed at “investing in people, the economy and innovation” in India. This will be a step forward in boosting private sector-led research and development in India.
Additionally, over the next five years, 10,000 PM Research Fellowships will be awarded for technological research in IITs and IISc (Indian Institute of Science), with increased financial support.
There is a focussed attempt to bring together academia, private sector and startups to work on national missions, such as the AI and Quantum Missions already underway, and the newly announced nuclear mission (to set up small and modular reactors), the geospatial mission, and others.
In her Budget speech on 1 February, Sitharaman announced a Deep Tech Fund of Funds to promote next-generation start-ups in the country.
S&T SECTOR
The Vigyan Dhara scheme of DST, which promotes scientific research and capacity building, has also seen an increase, with a proposed outlay of Rs 1,425 crore for 2025-26, compared to the RE (revised estimate) of Rs 330.75 crore in 2024-25. Funding for India’s quantum and supercomputing missions has also seen marginal increase.
The National Research Foundation (NRF)—a flagship Rs 50,000 crore initiative by the Union government to transform scientific research in India, has received Rs 2,000 crore—same as in the previous Budget. The RE for 2024-25 is pegged at Rs 200 crore.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been allocated Rs 6,600 crore for 2025-26—a marginal increase from the BE (budget estimate) of Rs 6,265.8 crore and RE of Rs 6,303.45 crore in 2024-25.
A Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education has been announced with an outlay of Rs 500 crore, aligning with the government’s focus on emerging technologies.
“The 2025 budgetary allocations for science and technology give greater emphasis on creative pursuits linked to wealth creation, food security, energy, and strategic sector, such as strengthening ‘Innovation & Startups Ecosystem’ by increasing ‘Funds for Startups’ to Rs 10,000 crores, setting up Rs 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools, and providing Rs 28,000 crores to boost ‘Research, Development, & Innovation,’ in addition to 10,000 PM Research Fellowships at top institutions. S&T support to farmers and ‘Gene Bank’ with 10,00,000 germplasm lines will boost ‘Food & Nutrition Security’ and help conserve indigenous genetic resources. Initiatives like ATL will help promote spirit of innovation amongst students and fellowships to boost research culture amongst scholars,” Prof Manoj Patairiya, New Delhi-based senior science writer on policy issues, and adjunct professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies, told Science India.
GEOSPATIAL SECTOR
The Union Budget also introduced a National Geospatial Mission with an outlay of Rs 100 crore for 2025-26. “The mission aims to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data, and will be funded under the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti, or the National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity. The initiative is expected to modernise land records, enhance urban planning and improve the design of infrastructure projects,” the FM stated in her speech.
With the introduction of the Research, Development and Innovation initiative and the National Geospatial Mission, the budgetary allocation for Department of Science & Technology’s (DST) schemes has risen to Rs 23,290 crore for 2025-26. This marks a significant increase from the 2024-25 BE of Rs 2,819 crore and the RE of Rs 2,351 crore.
The National Geospatial Mission has been allocated Rs 100 crore for FY 2025-2026 to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data. The mission will help implement the National Geospatial Policy 2022, notified by DST with the goal of expanding the access and use of geospatial data and making India a world leader in the geospatial sector.
SPACE SECTOR
The allocation for the space sector in the budget has increased compared to last year. The Department of Space has been allocated Rs 13,416.2 crore, up from Rs 13,042.75 crore in 2024—a rise of 2.86%. The budget also removed the 5 per cent customs duty on goods ‘used in the building of launch vehicles and launching of satellites’.
Following the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission and the Aditya-L1 solar observation project in the past couple of years, the increase in the space budget highlighted the government’s push for space exploration and satellite technology.
Image Courtesy: Sansad TV
“The government, by the way of its various ministries, has now latched on to the various use cases typical to each of their work portfolio that would need geospatial tools. Of the 100 plus space startups, nearly 60-70 of them have geospatial services to offer. The National Geospatial Mission, if implemented well, will work to make geospatial datasets accessible to the various public and private end users. Of the absolute numbers of global space economy, the highest share is that of downstream space services, of which geospatial is a part. So, if India is to achieve 10% of the global space economy by 2040, then unleashing the economic potential of the geospatial sector is a must,” shared Dr Chaitanya Giri, Space and Emerging Technology Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, with Science India.
BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR
Demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing India’s biotechnology sector and aligning closely with the Department of Biotechnology’s (DBT) objectives, Rs 3,446.64 crore has been allocated—a significant increase of 51.45% from the previous year’s allocation.
Recently, the government also approved the ‘Bio-RIDE’ scheme to foster innovation, promote bio-entrepreneurship, and strengthen India’s position as a global leader in biomanufacturing and biotechnology. The support for private sector research is expected to accelerate advancements in areas such as gene-editing, personalised medicine, and sustainable agriculture.
The National Manufacturing Mission (NMM) announced in the Budget aims to accelerate technology development and commercialisation, besides fostering high-performance biomanufacturing under the government’s ‘BioE3 Policy’.
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NUCLEAR SECTOR
The Budget has introduced a transformative policy shift in India’s nuclear energy sector by announcing plans to open nuclear power generation to private investment. This is a major step towards strengthening India’s energy security and sustainability.
The government’s ambitious programme to enhance the share of nuclear power to 100 GWe by 2047 and to invest heavily to support associated R&D is a challenging task. The participation of private players in the nuclear sector shall add a new dimension to the programme. The project to develop and install small modular reactors (SMRs) is essential in India’s energy transition.
“This move in the Union Budget 2025 aligns with India’s long-term goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and reflects the growing recognition of nuclear energy as a crucial component of the country’s clean energy transition,” observed Dr DK Aswal, Director, Health, Safety and Environment, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai while speaking with Science India.
NEED FOR PRAGMATIC APPROACH
Added Prof Patairiya, “Though the gross expenditure on Research & Development has increased, it decreased in terms of GDP from 0.82% in 2009-10 to 0.67% in 2023-24—it needs to be at least 2%. It is also said that only money or fellowships or higher academic grades cannot drive creativity or innovation unless institutions are manned by people having such attributes.
“Inducting and encouraging such minds in R&D institutions, though challenging, could be an advantage. According to a report, prestigious Mars and Chandrayan missions were accomplished mainly by youths trained in countryside colleges, such institutions also need support. A pragmatic R&D support system must ensure that financial support is not largely limited to top institutions in a few cities only, it reaches small towns’ institutions in far-flung areas also to provide equal opportunity and inclusivity. Its time science considered reshaping its image from ‘Ivory Tower’ to ‘Street Corner’ to achieve larger public good”.
*The writer is Editor, Science India
