Chennai: The goal of

Anusandhan National Research Foundation

(ANRF) is to support mission-oriented moonshot projects and directed innovations, said Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO. The foundation, whose chairperson is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will play a key role in shaping

India's innovation ecosystem

and human capital for

Viksit Bharat 2047

, he said.
At the 66th Institute Day of

IIT Madras

on Wednesday, Shivakumar said ANRF will support deep-tech start-ups and encourage greater private sector investment in R&D. "Currently, India's total R&D investment stands at 0.7% of the GDP, most of which is from the govt. If I want to increase the aggregate investment, it is the non-governmental sector that must invest a lot more in R&D, and that doesn't happen a lot in India." ANRF aims to bring capital from multiple sources and govern it in new ways, he added.
ANRF was first conceived under the National Education Policy-2020 and officially came into being with an act in Feb 2023. "The pathway from fundamental research to applied research through the innovation valley of death is arduous, but I am delighted to see the innovation ecosystem at IIT-Madras," he added.
In his address, V Kamakoti, IIT-M director, said: "The last academic year was both challenging and rewarding." He mentioned the Padma Shri award conferred on Dr Pawan Goenka, chairman, BoG, IIT-Madras, and the success of the BS in data science and applications program, where three students secured top ranks in the GATE data science paper, including AIR 1.

Kamakoti also said the women's team secured first place at the 57th Inter-IIT sports meet. "Students explore multiple career path options including jobs in industry, civil services, higher studies, and entrepreneurship. During the 2023-24 academic year, with support from the newly-launched career pathway centre, which was previously known as the placement centre, 95% of our students chose their career paths as of July 31, 2024," he added.
He also said IIT-Madras would soon have incubators in quantum tech, fintech, and sustainability, and is actively encouraging students to prepare for the civil services.
As part of the celebrations, IIT-M presented distinguished alumni awards to 12 individuals including former Isro chairman S Somanath.