Application window for Telecom Technology Development Fund scheme to close on Nov 15

New Delhi, Oct 31 (KNN) The application window for the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme that will allocate 5 per cent of the Universal Service Obligation Fund’s (USOF) annual collections to fund domestic R&D in the telecom sector will close on November 15, 2022.

The scheme was launched by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on October 1 with a 45-day window for applications.

The benefits of under the scheme can be availed by homegrown companies, startups, consortiums, academic institutions, and MSMEs focussing on telecom technologies.

According to a report by The Economic Times, the department is expected to approve the first batch of applications by domestic companies seeking funds for localised R&D activities by January next year.

DoT Secretary K Rajaraman told ET, “We have started receiving applications. So maybe in a month's time, we'll start processing them. I would say by January the first batch of applications would be approved.”

Funded by the USOF, the new scheme will encourage localised R&D activities in order to create Indian intellectual property rights (IPR) for telecom products and solutions.

USOF is an Rs 60,000 crore reserve introduced in 2002 to offer financial support for connecting the unconnected in the country's rural and remote regions.  (KNN Bureau)