India’s Deep Tech Startup Policy – A Global First
Mr. Sanjay began by introducing India's draft deep tech startup policy, proudly stating that it is one of the first of its kind globally. He emphasized that this visionary policy has emerged from extensive stakeholder consultation and is intended to provide focused support to deep tech start-ups—ventures rooted in scientific discovery or engineering innovation.
He asserted that the need for such a policy has never been greater, especially as India is witnessing a significant surge in early-stage innovations across sectors like quantum technology, AI, advanced materials, and biotech. However, these breakthroughs often face systemic barriers, particularly in scaling and commercialization.
Mr. Sanjay highlighted that deep tech innovation in India is gaining remarkable momentum, driven by a convergence of multiple reinforcing trends. Innovators are increasingly building globally relevant solutions from India, demonstrating that the country is not just a consumer but a creator in advanced technological domains. A notable shift is the return of highly skilled talent from abroad, who are now choosing to establish deep tech startups within India’s growing innovation ecosystem. This is complemented by greater support from academia, where institutions are actively promoting the commercialization of research by facilitating technology transfers and incubating startups. The government too has stepped in meaningfully, offering policy support, funding mechanisms, and infrastructure to help bridge the gap between scientific discovery and market deployment. Alongside this, private capital in India is becoming more risk-tolerant, recognizing the long-term potential of deep science ventures and stepping up investments in areas such as AI, biotechnology, and advanced materials. Finally, industries and corporates are not only acknowledging the value of deep tech but are increasingly partnering with startups, integrating these innovations into their core operations and accelerating adoption. Collectively, Mr. Sanjay emphasized, these interconnected developments are transforming India into a vibrant hub for deep tech innovation with global significance.
Bridging the Valley of Death: Addressing a Critical Challenge
Mr. Sanjay elaborated on the key pain point for deep tech startups—the notorious ‘Valley of Death.’ This term refers to the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) 3 to 7 range, where innovations have been validated in a lab but struggle to move into pilot production or commercial deployment.
While many of them are very innovative, they are not able to scale up to pilot and production level. Either the costing or the reliability or the supply chain or the output volume—something becomes a constraint.’ He pointed out that several startups, despite having strong concepts, become stuck due to lack of support for scaling, often needing manufacturing partners or additional investment to cross this critical threshold. Without adequate intervention, these innovations risk being abandoned or shelved.
Learning from Limited Success Stories
While referring to DRDO, BHEL, and ISRO, Mr. Sanjay acknowledged their role in nurturing some early-stage innovations, but also highlighted the limited scale of such support.
‘We have seen success stories where DRDO has taken it forward, BHEL has taken it forward, ISRO has supported some of them. But that number is still very small compared to the number of early-stage innovations that are coming up.’
He stressed the urgent need for a more structured and scalable ecosystem that could support a much larger volume of innovations consistently across sectors.
Building an Integrated Deep Tech Ecosystem
To address these challenges, Mr. Sanjay described how the policy aims to build a cohesive and empathetic ecosystem, where industry players, government bodies, and strategic sector stakeholders work together.
‘So we are creating a kind of ecosystem where industry players, government bodies, strategic sector representatives, all of them can come together and identify these promising innovations early on. And then handhold them through that Valley of Death stage, connect them to the right manufacturing partner, or give them the market linkage they need.’
This early identification and sustained handholding approach is central to the policy and is aimed at unlocking India’s deep tech potential.
Pillars of the Draft Policy
Mr. Sanjay then outlined the five key pillars that support the draft policy framework:
1. Greater Access to Funding
• TRL-linked grants: ₹1 crore for prototype development; ₹20 crore for commercialization.
• Establishment of deep tech funds and policy dialogue with banks on risk mitigation.
• Financing models aligned with deep tech scale-up timelines.
2. Empathetic Intellectual Property Regime
• Support for patent filing and commercialization.
• Tech transfer offices in educational and research institutions.
• Benchmarking global best practices for IP management.
3. Conducive Regulatory Ecosystem
• Regulatory sandboxes for safe piloting of innovations.
• Simplified compliance for startup transitions from lab to market.
• Risk-sensitive regulation to ensure both innovation and safety.
4. Facilitated Access to Infrastructure
• Access to national labs, high-performance computing, fab labs.
• Support for testing and certification.
• Shared R&D facilities to reduce capital costs.
5. Improved Domestic Research Linkages
• Collaboration between startups, academia, and national labs.
• Incentives for joint research projects.
• Schemes to encourage technology transfer and co-innovation.
Mr. Sanjay closed by stating that this policy is not just about supporting startups—it is about nation-building through technology leadership. By removing systemic barriers and aligning stakeholders, India can empower its innovators to scale globally.
‘We must ensure that no promising innovation dies in the Valley of Death. This policy is our commitment to making that happen.’
He urged all stakeholders to actively participate in refining and adopting the policy, ensuring that India becomes a global hub for deep tech innovation.