Goyal Urges Industry to Utilize Rs 1 Lakh Crore ANRF Fund for Innovation

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asked the India Inc to utilise the Rs 1 lakh crore fund under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to foster innovation and create a research-based ecosystem in the country.

Addressing the 97th Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Goyal also expressed hope that the government initiative to help India develop R & D ecosystem will evince interest from the industry leaders.

The minister also sought suggestions in making the processes to get funds outcome oriented and time efficient.

Goyal advocated bringing in private sector institutions to be part of the industry-academia-government partnership in fostering innovation and collaboration with the industry to meet the needs of the people and spur exports.

"I believe that with this pool of capital (ANRF), and if we can quickly use it, I assure you, the government will not be found wanting to put up additional funding on the table.

"But we have to get the industry and get the people of India, the youngsters, tuned to looking at new innovation and new ideas and developing them, experimenting with them, willing to fail, should it happen, but continue and persevere to create a innovation ecosystem in the country," Goyal said.

In his address, Goyal also highlighted that initiatives under the Prime Minister Nadrandra Modi government such as Digital India, Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – SAUBHAGYA, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), Ayushman Bharat and others like 'beads in a necklace' contributed to India's rapid transformation.

Talking about Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), he emphasised that adoption of toilets in schools and colleges under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative would have a huge positive impact on the children's future, enhancing the India growth story.

Goyal urged industry leaders to play a more proactive role and work closely with the government in their agenda to reduce compliance burdens and decriminalise laws detrimental to businesses, which will lead to improvement in ease of doing business.

Emphasising the need to raise quality standards in the country, the minister urged FICCI to tap into its technical committees and appoint a representative from every industry to ensure standards are maintained.