At a recent event held in a Mumbai hotel, the Electronics and Information Technology Department announced the launch of Electronics Department Fund (EDF). The Fund can be seen as Modi government's effort to actively promote and support the electronics design and manufacturing sector in the country. The event also saw Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, giving out the very first letter of commitment to a group of Daughter Funds.
The Electronics Department Fund was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1st, 2015 during the inauguration of the Digital India Week. Further, the search for the Fund Manager for the EDF came to an end on September 4th, 2015 with Canbank Venture Capital Fund Pvt. Ltd. (CVCFL) making the cut. March 31st, 2016 has been set as the deadline for applicants seeking funding to file their participation.
The technological world is advancing at an unprecedented rate. As you read this article, it is changing and becoming better and bigger with each passing second. In order to keep pace with these changes, the IT sector requires constant research and development. The policy book for EDF clearly reads that, "Intellectual Property is possibly the most critical differentiator and determinant of success for a technology company."The sector is central to the growth of every other sector of the economy in the country and therefore is of significance importance.
Catering to this need, the government of India has branded the EDF as a "Funds of Funds" that will look after the constant need of Research and Development and innovation in technology. The EDF will not only help in supporting the Daughter Funds which in return will result in providing risk capital to the companies who are developing new technologies, but it will also help in getting the attention of angel funds, seed funds and venture funds to the desired areas.
The Modi government which took charge of the office in May 2014 is focused on empowering the Indian country digitally. It aims to do this through its much ambitious project, Digital India initiative. Under its this initiative, the Modi government also has a plan to develop the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and achieve the target of “Net Zero Imports” in another 4 years by 2020. The EDF will prove as a great encouragement tool for entrepreneurs to focus on technology development and setting up of new ventures.
According to IndianWeb2, EDF could prove to be an excellent move by the Modi government and prove that they are really keen on fulfilling the promise of a Digital India to the citizens. Whether they're available to fulfil their commitment is something only time will tell.
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