Individual innovators and pre-incorporation founders can access DST's NIDHI-PRAYAS grants, Atal Tinkering Lab programs, and state-level innovation awards. Several schemes including the Smart India Hackathon and BIRAC's Biotechnology Ignition Grant accept applications from individuals before formal entity registration.
Showing 412+ programs for Indian startups
Soma
Funding up to ₹180,000,000 for startups, with extensive mentorship and networking.
EWOR
EWOR invests in individuals at any stage, from idea to €500K ARR, fostering potential.
Forum Ventures
Pre-seed venture capital for B2B SaaS and AI startups.
Forum Ventures
Pre-seed accelerator for B2B software startups, offering ₹9,000,000 investment and tailored guidance.
Marwari Catalysts
Acceleration program for pre-seed & early-stage Indian startups across all sectors.
500 Global
Silicon Valley-based accelerator with $150K investment for early-stage startups.
IHFC, IIT Delhi
Incubation for Indian deeptech startups in Cyber Physical Systems, Robotics, IoT, and AI.
Campus Fund, Google Cloud
Investment platform and accelerator contest for student-led AI startups.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Nationwide challenge by Thermo Fisher for early-stage and growth-stage biotech startups registered with DPIIT.
Freelancing Females, Heartbeat
Grant for women founders, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and community builders. Open to all genders aligned with the mission of empowering women in business.
IHFC, IIT Delhi & India Accelerator
Up to ₹5Cr for medtech & healthcare startups with scalable solutions
NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore
5-month sector-agnostic pre-incubation with ₹5L grants for top 3 teams at NSRCEL IIM Bangalore.
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)
Up to ₹1.5 crore grant for defence & aerospace innovators.
National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE)
Aquaculture and fisheries incubation program for startups and aquapreneurs
MANAGE Centre for Innovation and Agripreneurship
Grant up to ₹4L for students with agri-innovation ideas
MANAGE Centre for Innovation and Agripreneurship
Grant up to ₹5L for agripreneurs with agri startup ideas
AIC-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum
Pre-incubation for ideation-stage founders to build prototypes
TIDES Business Incubator, IIT Roorkee
DST grant up to ₹10L for idea-stage innovators needing prototype development support.
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
National blockchain and Web3 startup challenge for citizen-centric solutions
IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre (IIML EIC)
₹1 lakh grant accelerator for AgriTech startups expanding in Uttar Pradesh
UNDP, Citi Foundation, Atal Innovation Mission, T-Hub Foundation
Jagriti Enterprise Centre Purvanchal
Incubation for MSMEs & startups in Purvanchal; women-led priority