The Indian government is close to finalizing a policy aimed at supporting deep tech startups, which includes setting up a Rs. 1 lakh crore fund with interest-free loans.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, the Secretary of the DPIIT, announced the policy progress at the StartUp Mahakumbh event in New Delhi, indicating it's in the advanced stages of inter-ministerial discussions.

The policy's objectives include nurturing India's deeptech ecosystem and establishing a dedicated fund of funds for such startups, while also encouraging them to convert innovation into intellectual property rights.

A call was made for broader adoption of the defence ministry's iDex model across government departments to foster startup growth.

The policy will focus on increasing investment in research and development, creating an open science and data sharing platform, and developing a unified intellectual property framework.

The National Deep Tech Startup Policy Consortium has already released a draft policy, with the final version expected soon after inter-ministerial consultations.

India is positioned as the third-largest tech startup ecosystem globally, and a surge in investments in deeptech startups is anticipated in 2024.