Conflict of interest in startup funding panel “unavoidable”, says Technology Development Board secretary
Government defends overlap between TDB investment committee members and companies backed under ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund
The Technology Development Board (TDB) secretary, Rajesh Pathak, stated on Friday that the conflict of interest in selecting expert panels to fund technology startups is "unavoidable" and must be managed. This comment came after the government disclosed in Parliament on July 30 that members of the TDB's expert panel had financial links to companies they were evaluating for public funding.
The TDB, under the Department of Science and Technology, is responsible for allocating funds from the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund. As of July, the TDB had approved support for 22 projects, totaling ₹2,192 crore in RDI financing. The Investment Committee, chaired by Dr. Saurabh Srivastava, includes several members with financial ties to the companies they evaluate.
To manage these conflicts, the TDB has implemented guidelines, such as requiring members to disclose any financial interest and recuse themselves when their companies are being discussed. Additionally, companies with direct or indirect financial connections to members are automatically disqualified from receiving funding.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
