ANRF CEO: India cannot wait 75 years to scale research

Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO of India's Anusandhan National Research Foundation, said at TechSparks 2026 that the country must accelerate research commercialisation instead of replicating the 75-year paths of the US NSF and DARPA. The foundation manages a Rs 1 lakh crore government pool through a fund-of-funds model and aims to raise R&D spending from under 1% to 3% of GDP.

• ANRF runs the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI fund as a patient capital instrument
• Money flows through 19 fund managers and could catalyse Rs 5–10 lakh crore
• Goal is to lift R&D spending from under 1% to 3% of GDP at 20–25% CAGR
• PAIR programme pairs top universities with regional institutions across India