Deadline: 31 July 2018
Applications are open for NIDHI-PRAYAS Program to help young and aspiring innovators. The focus is to provide support/funding from idea to prototype.
National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) is an umbrella programme conceived and developed by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful start-ups.
Under this initiative, DST has launched NIDHI- Promoting and Accelerating Young and ASpiring innovators & startups (NIDHI-PRAYAS) program. The program caters to idea-stage entrepreneurs with a physical product offering, who require support for prototyping. It would also facilitate the innovators with the Physical infrastructure, Technical Guidance, Business Mentorship etc.
Objectives
- Enable translation of an innovative idea to a prototype.
- Provide a platform for faster experimentation and modify approaches in the idea to market journey.
- Generate innovative solutions relevant to the local and global problems.
- Attract a large number of youth who demonstrates problem solving zeal and abilities
- A pre-incubation program or pipeline activity leading to startup incubation. Ideal end point is venture creation and development.
Priorities Area
- The priority areas for supporting innovations under NIDHI PRAYAS program are manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, clean-tech, energy, water and Internet of Things (IOT) and other technology areas.
Funding Information
- The maximum support can be provided per innovator/incubatee is upto Rs. 10 lakhs.
Eligibility Criteria
- The eligibility criteria for the grantees are as follows
- Individual innovator: Applicants are required to be Indian Citizen at least 18 years of age on 1st of August, 2016. An Indian citizen is defined as one who is in possession of a government approved proof of nationality such as a valid passport, voter’s id etc.
- Existing incubatee of a PRAYAS centre:-
- The company is less than 2 years and wants to develop the prototype for a new product, for which they may have not received similar kind of support.
- Company should have no significant revenue at the time of application.
- Team of individual innovator: If the team wants to pursue the project, then there has to be an agreement among the team about the lead applicant and the lead applicant have to apply for NIDHI-PRAYAS. The financial support (after the selection process) will be given to the lead applicant on behalf of the team.
- Not eligible for PRAYAS:
- Student applicants pursuing long term research projects like doctoral research projects or similar projects will not be supported
- Professors or Academicians engaged in teaching with any academic or R&D institute.
- The project should involve physical product development. The projects relating to software development and those involving pure academic research are not eligible.
- Preference may be given to those innovators
- Who have bootstrapped or have got co-investment commitment.
- Who have clear road map for commercialization or start up creation.
- Women innovators
- Young innovators
- If the innovator is pursuing to build a prototype from their institute/organization IP, then in that case innovator will take NOC from the appropriate authority of their institute/organisation for use/IP transfer / ownership in favour of the innovator/startup.
- If the applicant is studying /working in an institute/organization, they should get a no objection certificate from that respective institute/organization for applying to NIDHI PRAYAS.
- The NIDHI-PRAYAS grantee should be registered for the pre-incubation or incubation program at the TBI for the entire duration of the program, after going through the TBI’s selection process.
- NIDHI-PRAYAS grantee should be fully committed to work towards the prototype development for which the support is being sought and should not treat this as a stop gap arrangement to support any other pursuits.
- The innovator can avail the NIDHI-PRAYAS support only once and they should not have sought the similar support previously, from other Government of India organisation/Institution for the same innovative concept as proposed in the application form.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted via email at the address given on the website.
Eligible Country: India
For more information, please visit NIDHI-PRAYAS Program.