Do I need a registered company to apply?

No. The EIR program is explicitly designed for the pre-incorporation stage. You apply as an individual; the goal is to take you from idea to prototype before you form a company.

How much funding do I get?

Up to ₹35,000 per month for 12 months — cumulative up to ₹4.2 lakh — disbursed as a monthly stipend, contingent on milestone reviews by IITM Pravartak's Technical Review Committee.

Who owns the IP I create during the EIR period?

All patents and technology ideas generated during the EIR are jointly owned by IITM Pravartak and the inventor. Pravartak bears filing costs and later licenses the IP back to your startup with a royalty clause; an exclusive licence option is available subject to agreed terms. This is an important commercial difference from standard equity-free grants.

What happens after the EIR year ends?

Once your prototype is ready, you can apply to IITM Pravartak's PRAYAS or Seed Support System (SSS) schemes for further funding to take the product to market.

Is there a preference for any particular type of applicant?

Yes — winners of Hackathons or Grand Challenge Competitions are given preference.

Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program at IITM Pravartak – Up to ₹4.2 Lakhs

About this grant

The Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program at IITM Pravartak is a pre-incorporation grant for Indian innovators working on cyber-physical systems (CPS). It is run by IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation — IIT Madras's Technology Innovation Hub under the NMICPS mission, headquartered at the IIT Madras Research Park, Taramani, Chennai.

What stage is this for

This program is designed for the stage before a company is incorporated. Pravartak takes on a single innovator with a CPS idea, gives them runway and infrastructure to convert that idea into a working prototype or pilot, and then channels them into Pravartak's incubation pipeline (PRAYAS, Seed Support System) for follow-on funding once the company is formed.

What you get

Selected EIRs receive a grant of up to ₹35,000 per month for 12 months (cumulative up to ₹4.2 lakh), plus technical mentorship and access to IITM Pravartak's lab facilities at the IIT Madras Research Park. The position lasts for a maximum of one year.

Focus areas

IITM Pravartak only considers proposals in Sensors, Networking, Actuators and Control Systems — the building blocks of cyber-physical systems. Adjacent CPS-relevant work (IoT, robotics, industrial automation, embedded systems, edge AI) is implied by the same scope.

Patents & IP — read this carefully

All patents and technology ideas generated during the EIR period are jointly owned by IITM Pravartak and the inventor(s). IITM Pravartak bears the patent filing costs. Once a startup is later formed by the EIR, Pravartak licenses the IP back to that startup with a royalty clause; an exclusive licence option is available subject to terms agreed at the time of filing. EIRs should factor this into their decision — this is not standard "your IP, your company" support.

Continuity into Pravartak's incubation pipeline

Once a prototype is built, EIRs can graduate into Pravartak's PRAYAS or Seed Support System (SSS) tracks for further funding — turning the EIR year into the on-ramp to becoming a Pravartak-incubated startup.

Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program at IITM Pravartak

Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program at IITM Pravartak

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