RDI Fund Names First Cohort of 19 Second-Level Fund Managers with Rs 7,131 Crore Committed

12 October 2026National

The Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF) announced its first cohort of 19 Second Level Fund Managers — 14 Alternative Investment Funds and five Focused Research Organisations — with a combined commitment of Rs 7,131 crore. The Empowered Group of Secretaries approved them on 8 October, and the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the cohort on 12 October 2026. RDIF is managed by an Independent Business Unit inside the Anusandhan National Research Foundation under the Department of Science and Technology. Managers will fund enterprises doing R&D at Technology Readiness Level 4 and above, and must mobilise private capital matching the RDIF contribution.

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The Anusandhan National Research Foundation was created by the ANRF Act, 2023, with the Prime Minister as ex-officio President of its Governing Board | Technology Readiness Levels form a nine-point NASA-origin scale from basic concept (TRL 1) to proven operation (TRL 9) | The Technology Development Board, under the TDB Act, 1995, is another DST body funding commercialisation

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Bud Rot Outbreak Hits Coconut Palms in Tiptur Taluk of Karnataka's Tumakuru District

An outbreak of Bud Rot, a fatal coconut palm disease caused by the pathogen *Phytophthora palmivora*, has struck Tiptur taluk of Tumakuru district, Karnataka, affecting villages including Mattihalli, Hosahalli and Halkurike and parts of the Nonavinakere and Kasaba hoblis. The disease rots the terminal bud and surrounding tissue; once the growing point is destroyed the palm cannot recover and must be removed. Palms of all ages are susceptible, but young palms are the most vulnerable, and the infection spreads fastest in the high humidity of the monsoon. Tumakuru is one of Karnataka's biggest coconut-growing districts and Tiptur is a major copra trading centre.

GK ByteIndia is the world's largest coconut producer, with Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the leading states | The Coconut Development Board was set up in 1981 and is headquartered at Kochi, Kerala | Phytophthora palmivora is an oomycete or water mould and also causes black pod disease in cocoa

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US Order Removing DeepSeek AI from Federal Civilian IT Systems Takes Effect on 20 October 2026

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GK ByteA white dwarf is the dense remnant of a low- or medium-mass star that has exhausted its nuclear fuel; it is roughly Earth-sized and is held up against collapse by electron degeneracy pressure | The Chandrasekhar limit, about 1.4 solar masses, is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf | Sirius B, the companion of Sirius, was the first white dwarf to be identified

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