Deadline: 14-May-23
Applications are now open for the UPJA Incubation Program for Innovations in Agriculture, a special initiative incubation program by Pusa Krishi, ICAR-IARI, nurturing early-stage innovators & entrepreneurs to transform the future of agriculture.
Focus Area
- Farm Mechanization
- Precision Agriculture
- Supply Chain & Agriculture Logistics
- Post-Harvest, Food Technology & Value addition
- Waste to Wealth & Green Energy
- Agriculture Allied Sectors
- Agri Fintech
- Agricultural Inputs & Biotechnology
- Natural Resource Management
- Agriculture Extension & Education
Benefits
- Upto INR 25,00,000 Grant-in-Aid
- Technology Validation & Backstopping.
- Pilot Opportunities
- Business Mentoring from Industry Leaders.
- Access to Cutting-Edge Infrastructure.
- Market Linkages & Investor’s Connect.
How it Works?
Phase 1
- 2-Month Online Learning & Mentoring Incubation Program
- What Happens: Once selected, their startups & innovators receive transformational support. The selected individuals & groups participate in mentoring & coaching with their technical experts, business & thought leaders. They also get access to their powerful network of startups & founders. This is one of the strongest networks of changemakers who are transforming agriculture & allied sectors.
- The Results: The participants’ prototype is passed through multiple technical validations, business assessments, IP and other checks to create a feasible, viable, and scalable product ready for the market. Finally, the participants get to pitch their product to their panel of experts and the selected startups have the opportunity to get incubation with a Grant-in-Aid of upto INR 25,00,000.
Phase 2
- 1-Year Incubation Program
- What Happens: The selected startups receive mentoring and grant-in-aid of upto INR 25,00,000 (in milestone based 3-tranches) to commercially launch their product. They are mentored to run & sustain their business, grow their market linkages & connections, and develop a plan for scaling up. The start-ups also get field trials and pilot opportunities alongside.
- The Results: In the program, their startups develop a better product & business acumen, their professional network grows in quantity as well as quality, and they have more options of raising money.
Eligibility Criteria
- Upja recognises early-stage innovations in the field of agriculture & allied sectors. Your should apply, if you are:
- An Indian citizen
- Have an innovation in agriculture & allied sectors at MVP (Minimum Viable Product) Stage.
- You can apply if you have raised funding.
- In case you have received a grant-in-aid support of INR 10,00,000 or more under any Government of India sponsored scheme then you are not eligible for UPJA.
Selection Process
- Every year, through a rigorous open application process, their panel of evaluators select some of the most promising ideas & prototypes to be a part of Upja. The applications are evaluated on various parameters — including but not limited to — need, novelty, technical feasibility, business viability, scalability, social impact, market size, team capabilities, and projected financial growth.
- After the application round, the shortlisted applicants appear for a selection committee interview. If selected in the interview, the applicants are allotted their cohort for the 2-month pre-incubation program.
- The 2-month training will take place online on video conferencing.
Ineligible
- Pusa Krishi, ICAR-IARI reserves the right to disqualify any application if found engaged in any frauds, malpractices, or unethical activities.
- Any organization/ individual applying for the program should have not been blacklisted by the government or any major agency/ entity, and have no pending litigation in any court of law. The applicant is obligated to inform Pusa Krishi in case of any change in status of the aforementioned.
- Received a grant-in-aid support from any Government of India sponsored schemes of INR 10,00,000 or more for the same product/ service
For more information, visit AFA.