Government R&D and Innovation Funding… at Eagle Ai… · Noida(Sec…

Role & responsibilities

The primary objective of this position is to build and manage a Government Funding Pipeline for the Drone Manufacturing Hub and its participating projects.

The incumbent will identify suitable funding opportunities and develop proposals for:

• Research & Development
• Advanced drone technologies
• Indigenous drone components
• Prototyping and product development
• Testing and certification infrastructure
• Manufacturing infrastructure
• Technology commercialisation
• Defence and dual-use technologies
• Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems
• Robotics and swarm technologies
• Agriculture and precision applications
• Mapping, surveying and geospatial applications
• Communication, navigation and sensing technologies
• Battery, propulsion and power systems
• Electronics, avionics and flight-control systems
• Technology transfer and industry-academia collaboration
• Start-up and MSME innovation programmes

Key Responsibilities

1. Government Funding Identification

Continuously identify and track relevant Government of India funding schemes, calls for proposals, grants, soft loans, equity/innovation support, challenge programmes and other eligible financial instruments.

The role will monitor programmes and institutions including, as applicable:

• Department of Science & Technology (DST)
• Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
• Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund
• Technology Development Board (TDB)
• Ministry of Defence / Department of Defence Production
• iDEX Innovations for Defence Excellence
• Technology Development Fund (TDF)
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), where relevant to biotechnology/agri-biotech drone applications
• Ministry of Civil Aviation
• Other Central Government Ministries and Departments
• State Government innovation and industrial-development programmes
• Government-supported incubators and technology missions
• Relevant public-sector and development-finance institutions

The employee shall verify the current eligibility, funding structure, application window, eligible expenditure, matching contribution requirements, intellectual-property provisions and milestone requirements of each scheme before recommending it.

2. RDI Fund / ANRF Funding

Develop a specialised funding pipeline under the Government's Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) framework, including opportunities routed through authorised Second-Level Fund Managers.

The position shall:

• Track RDI funding calls relevant to drones, advanced manufacturing, electronics, AI, robotics and strategic technologies.
• Identify eligible private-sector, start-up and industry-led projects.
• Coordinate preparation of technical and financial proposals.
• Develop project-level funding requirements and milestone plans.
• Coordinate with authorised Fund Managers and implementing agencies.
• Maintain documentation required for due diligence and appraisal.
• Track sanctioned projects, disbursements and utilisation.
• Ensure that proposals are aligned with the applicable RDI guidelines and financial rules.

The RDI Scheme is particularly relevant because the Government has structured it to catalyse private-sector investment in R&D and innovation, with the framework operationalised through ANRF and designated fund managers. R RDI Fund+1

3. Defence Innovation Funding

Identify appropriate opportunities under iDEX, TDF and other Ministry of Defence innovation programmes for eligible drone and dual-use technologies.

Responsibilities include:

• Monitoring iDEX challenges and defence problem statements.
• Identifying technologies suitable for defence applications.
• Coordinating with start-ups, MSMEs, academia and technology developers.
• Preparing technical-commercial proposals.
• Developing milestone-based budgets.
• Coordinating prototype-development funding.
• Supporting access to testing facilities and defence users where applicable.
• Tracking procurement/commercialisation opportunities following successful technology development.

iDEX provides funding support for eligible innovation proposals and encourages expenditure on R&D, prototyping, pilot implementation and market assessment.

TDF is another relevant channel for indigenous defence technology development, including industry-academia/research-institution collaboration.

4. Government Grant Proposal Development

Lead preparation of high-quality funding proposals covering:

• Executive summary
• Problem statement
• Technology description
• Innovation and technology-readiness level
• R&D methodology
• Work packages
• Project milestones
• Project implementation schedule
• Human-resource requirements
• Capital expenditure
• R&D expenditure
• Prototype-development costs
• Testing and certification costs
• Manufacturing scale-up requirements
• Domestic value addition
• Commercialisation strategy
• Intellectual-property strategy
• Market opportunity
• Employment-generation potential
• Export potential
• Strategic relevance
• Risk analysis
• Financial projections
• Funding requirement
• Co-funding/matching contribution, wherever applicable
• Expected measurable outcomes

5. Funding Strategy for the Drone Manufacturing Hub

Develop a 5 year Government Funding Roadmap for the Hub.

The roadmap should identify separate funding requirements for:

1. R&D laboratories
2. Prototype-development facilities
3. Drone testing infrastructure
4. Electronics and avionics development
5. AI/autonomy laboratories
6. Battery and propulsion R&D
7. Manufacturing facilities
8. Common facility centres
9. Certification and compliance infrastructure
10. Start-up incubation
11. Industry-academia collaborative projects
12. Technology commercialisation
13. Defence/dual-use applications
14. Export-oriented manufacturing

The manager will create a Scheme-to-Project Matrix showing which Government programme may potentially support each project, subject to the applicable eligibility conditions.

6. Government Liaison and Stakeholder Management

Develop and maintain professional relationships with:

• Central Government Ministries
• Government departments
• ANRF
• DST
• TDB
• DRDO/defence innovation ecosystem
• iDEX/DIO
• State Government departments
• Government-supported incubators
• Universities and IITs/NITs
• Research institutions
• Industry associations
• Start-ups and MSMEs
• Technology partners
• Financial institutions
• Potential co-funding partners

All engagement shall be conducted through proper institutional channels and in accordance with applicable Government procedures and organisational policies.

7. IndustryAcademiaGovernment Projects

Build consortiums involving:

Industry + Start-up/MSME + University/R&D Institution + Government/End User

for eligible R&D and innovation programmes.

The candidate shall identify complementary capabilities and prepare consortium proposals with clearly defined:

• Technical responsibilities
• Financial responsibilities
• Intellectual-property ownership
• Technology-transfer arrangements
• Milestones
• Deliverables
• Commercialisation rights
• Compliance obligations

8. Monitoring and Compliance

Maintain a comprehensive database of:

• Funding schemes
• Funding calls
• Application deadlines
• Eligibility criteria
• Submitted proposals
• Sanctioned projects
• Funding amount
• Disbursement milestones
• Utilisation certificates
• Project milestones
• Government correspondence
• Audit requirements
• Reporting requirements

Ensure that no funding claim, eligibility statement or proposal is submitted without verification against the latest applicable Government notification/guidelines.

Preferred candidate profile

The candidate will be evaluated on measurable outcomes such as:

• Government funding opportunities identified and qualified
• Number of eligible proposals developed
• Value of proposals submitted
• Value of funding sanctioned
• Number of Government/industry/R&D partnerships established
• Number of successful R&D projects
• Number of technologies progressed from prototype to commercialisation
• Number of start-ups/MSMEs supported
• Number of industry-academia projects established
• Funding pipeline value
• Proposal success/conversion rate
• Timely submission of applications and reports
• Compliance with Government funding conditions

Important: KPIs shall measure professional activity and actual sanctioned funding, not guarantee that any Government authority will approve a proposal.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Technology, Science, Management, Finance, Economics or a related discipline.
• Master's degree/MBA/M.Tech/PhD or equivalent qualification will be an advantage.
• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in government funding, R&D grants, technology programmes, business development, project finance, innovation management or institutional fundraising.
• Experience with Government of India schemes will be strongly preferred.

Preferred Experience

Experience in one or more of the following:

• Government R&D grants
• DST/ANRF programmes
• TDB programmes
• Defence innovation programmes
• iDEX
• TDF/DRDO ecosystem
• MSME/start-up funding
• Technology commercialisation
• Industry-academia projects
• Drone/UAV/UAS technology
• Aerospace
• Defence technology
• Electronics
• AI/robotics
• Advanced manufacturing
• Semiconductor/electronics ecosystem
• Battery/energy technology

Essential Skills

• Government proposal writing
• Grant writing
• Project finance
• Government scheme interpretation
• Budget preparation
• Technical proposal development
• Financial modelling
• Business-plan preparation
• Project management
• Stakeholder management
• Government correspondence
• Research and analytical skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Presentation skills
• MS Office/Google Workspace
• Ability to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs)

Desirable Skills

Knowledge of:

• Drone Rules and applicable UAS regulatory framework
• Drone certification and testing ecosystem
• Make in India / Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes
• Government procurement
• Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
• Intellectual-property management
• Technology transfer
• Manufacturing value-chain development
• Defence procurement ecosystem
• Startup and MSME ecosystem
• CSR/ESG funding, where legally and operationally applicable

Professional Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong Government funding network knowledge
• High-quality proposal-writing capability
• Ability to understand complex technical projects
• Strong financial and commercial understanding
• Ability to convert technical concepts into fundable projects
• Strong follow-up and documentation discipline
• High integrity and compliance orientation
• Ability to work with senior Government, academic and industry stakeholders
• Ability to manage multiple funding applications simultaneously

Perks and benefits

A performance-linked component may be considered based on measurable responsibilities such as proposal development, project mobilisation, partnerships and successful institutional funding outcomes, subject to applicable employment and organisational policies.