Technology Development Board (TDB)

A lab at IIT Guwahati found a way to grow a natural blue pigment from algae. On its own, that discovery would likely have stayed a research paper. A government board exists specifically to stop that from happening.

MCQ Questions

SciTech0093

TDB: Turning Lab Research Into Products

Since 1996, the government body that funds the gap between a working prototype and a real factory.

1995

TDB Act receives assent

Parliament creates the legal basis for a board to fund indigenous technology’s leap to market.

Sep 1996

TDB is constituted

The Board becomes operational, under the Department of Science and Technology.

1999

Finance Act adds a tax incentive

Donations to TDB’s Fund become fully tax-deductible, widening its resource base.

Jul 2026

Backs an IIT Guwahati bio-pigment

TDB funds a Hyderabad firm to commercialise indigenous C-Phycocyanin production.

The pattern: India funds a lot of research, but a working lab process and a commercially viable factory are two different problems. TDB exists specifically for the gap in between, the part public research grants usually don’t cover.

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Must Know

• The Technology Development Board (TDB) is a statutory body, constituted in September 1996 under the Technology Development Board Act, 1995.
• TDB functions under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
• Its core mandate is to fund the commercialisation of indigenous technology, and the wider domestic adaptation of imported technology.
• TDB provides financial assistance as equity, loans, or grants, directly to industrial concerns and research institutions.
• Its standard loan carries a simple interest rate of 5% per annum, well below typical commercial lending rates.
• The Board’s Fund draws on cess collections from industrial concerns, under the Research and Development Cess Act, 1986. Since 1999, donations to the Fund are also fully tax-deductible.
• In July 2026, TDB supported M/s K.N. Biosciences (India) Private Limited, Hyderabad, to commercialise an indigenous technology for producing C-Phycocyanin, a natural blue pigment, from Spirulina algae.

Good to Know

• TDB was the first body of its kind in the Indian government, set up with the sole objective of commercialising the results of indigenous research.
• Beyond direct funding, TDB facilitates interaction between industry, scientists, and technocrats. It also connects funded projects with banks and other financial institutions.
• The Board has 11 members. Its Secretary at the time of the July 2026 Spirulina project was Rajesh Kumar Pathak.
• The C-Phycocyanin technology behind the July 2026 project was developed at IIT Guwahati, using an indigenous Spirulina strain (NCIM 5143).
• It was transferred to the commercial partner through a formal Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement, a standard route for moving lab-developed IP into industry.
• C-Phycocyanin is used across food, nutraceutical, agriculture, aquaculture, poultry feed, and biostimulant applications. India currently imports much of its supply of such natural colourants.
• The new process uses a green, solvent-free extraction method. It yields a stable, water-soluble blue powder benchmarked against international commercial standards.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. The Technology Development Board (TDB) was constituted in September 1996, under which legislation?

The Research and Development Cess Act, 1986

The Companies Act, 1956

The Technology Development Board Act, 1995

The Finance Act, 1999

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Great to Know

• TDB fills a specific funding gap. Research grants typically fund the science; TDB funds the harder, more expensive step of building a commercial-scale factory around a proven lab process.
• Its funding mechanism, a dedicated cess-backed Fund rather than annual budget allocations, gives it a more stable, insulated revenue base than many other government schemes.
• This project fits into India’s wider push to reduce import dependence on speciality ingredients. See SciTech0036 — Indigenous Technology Development and Make in India for that broader effort.
• A 5% simple-interest loan is a meaningful subsidy in itself. It signals that TDB’s core role is closer to development finance than to grant-making philanthropy.

Current Affairs

• 19 July 2026: TDB called Skyroot Aerospace‘s Vikram-1 orbital launch success “a watershed moment.” It noted the company’s early recognition, via the National Technology Start-up Award 2022. See SciTech0106 — Skyroot Aerospace and Vikram-1 for the full story. (Source: PIB)
• 16 July 2026: TDB extended financial assistance to M/s K.N. Biosciences (India) Private Limited, Hyderabad, to commercialise indigenous C-Phycocyanin production technology from Spirulina. (Source: PIB)
• 16 July 2026: The technology, developed at IIT Guwahati using Spirulina strain NCIM 5143, was transferred to the company through a formal Transfer of Technology agreement. (Source: PIB)
• 16 July 2026: TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said the project shows how scientific innovation can create sustainable alternatives to imported speciality ingredients. (Source: PIB)