Involving private sector in RDI Fund crucial

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund is indeed a welcome step toward nurturing India’s long-awaited innovation ecosystem. In the vast field of global progress, India’s R&D has often been a sapling struggling for sunlight growing, but overshadowed by giants like the US, China, and South Korea. For years, our country has invested less than 1% of GDP in R&D, a figure that speaks volumes about our neglect of the roots of technological advancement.

The RDI Fund could finally act as the nourishing rain that helps India’s research tree flourish. Its focus on involving the private sector is crucial, as innovation blooms best when both government and enterprise cultivate it together. If executed with care, the RDI Fund could transform India’s scientific landscape into a thriving garden of innovation one that not only feeds industry but inspires generations of thinkers and creators.

Raju Kolluru, Kakinada

II

Apropos of editorial ‘RDI fund is a very good idea whose time came long back’. The fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore earmarked for Research Development Innovation will definitely help pave the way for Indian industry to grow and develop in leaps and bounds in the face of relentless global competition and innovations being witnessed in the industrial sectors all over the world.

Thus India can be in a position to create new patents being registered since the potential across the sectors for R&D is unlimited as India is on a firm footing and has initiated needed moves in this direction during the past ten years in the country.

S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

III

When investment in Research and Development remains low in this age of rapid technological and scientific advancement and to keep pace with it, Prime Minister’s announcement of one lakh crore fund for Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) comes as a whiff of fresh air.

Despite numerous steps taken to industrialise the nation all round since independence, the investment in India’s GERD running below the global average reflects poor decision and least priority given to a vital area by successive governments. The trend is even more pronounced hovering around 36% in private sector in India.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

New York’s new Mayor

The election of Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist as the 111th mayor of New York has been greeted as a major triumph for democracy and socialism across the world. A socialist at the helm in a citadel of capitalism is really something quite interesting. The new kind of politics that Mamdani represents seems to have appealed to the voters and persuaded them to elect him as the mayor. His affordability message resonated with the voters of New York. He has taken a principled stand in support of immigration.

His assertion that “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of now, led by an immigrant” lends an unambiguous legitimacy to the phenomenon of immigration globally. Mamdani is sure to give priority to free public transport, affordable housing and free universal child care.

G David Milton, Maruthancode (TN)

Give Rs 3,500 as MSP to sugarcane ryots

The ongoing farmers’ protest in north Karnataka demanding a minimum support price of ₹3,500 per tonne for sugarcane deserves urgent government attention. With input costs escalating and delayed payments by sugar mills adding to farmers’ distress, the demand is economically justified. The current price fails to cover cultivation expenses, pushing many into debt.

Successive governments have promised fair pricing but failed to ensure timely procurement and payment. The protest is not merely about price; it reflects deep frustration over policy neglect and corporate favoritism in the sugar industry. The state must engage with farmers constructively and announce a realistic, remunerative MSP to prevent large-scale agrarian unrest and ensure the survival of one of Karnataka’s key agricultural sectors.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

More needs to be done to protect pachyderms

Apropos the news report “Attach radio collar to captured elephant and release into forest” (Nov 6), the move to fit a radio collar before releasing the elephant is a practical and humane step toward reducing conflict between humans and wildlife. Such tracking will help forest officials monitor the animal’s movement and behaviour, ensuring timely intervention if it strays near human settlements.

However, technology alone cannot solve the deeper issue of shrinking habitats and disturbed migration routes. It is our foremost duty to protect the gentle giant — the true ‘God of the forest’ — whose survival sustains the delicate balance of nature. The government must prioritise restoring corridors, curbing encroachments, and fostering community participation so that coexistence becomes a shared and lasting goal.

Avinashiappan Myilsami, Coimbatore