Athera’s Gambit - The Third Move ♟️

Government of Karnataka's flagship deep tech grant program offering up to ₹1 crore per startup, with mentorship and milestone-based funding, targeting science- and engineering-led innovations.

One-time grant up to ₹50L for Karnataka startups where a minority founder holds at least 51%, to build a prototype and scale up.

University of California robotics and AI challenge for student teams solving real farm problems: over US$200,000 in prizes and startup support, open to students worldwide. Proposals due 13 November 2026 (the Participate page says 13 December).

A nationwide buildathon for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs to build and scale AI-powered solutions with Google AI, expert mentorship, and startup grants and credits.

DARPA's prize contest for autonomous trauma-surgery robots: US$3.5 million in prizes, up to US$1 million (about ₹9.5 crore) per lane. Qualification closes 14 November 2026 IST.

Online semiconductor contest for university students only, with India as its own competing region. Top prize US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) per track; abstracts due 14 November 2026.

An India-wide grand challenge inviting students, startups, and enterprises to build innovative digital twin solutions for India's logistics sector, offering cash prizes and access to key datasets.

Grant support of up to ₹10 lakh for innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs from the NIDHI DST iTBI centre at GNDEC, Bidar. Third call; apply by 14 November 2026.

Free global pitch competition for high school founders, with a US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) equity-free grand prize. Applications close 14 November 2026.

Startup Jharkhand's NIRMAN 1.0 is a pre-accelerator program guiding aspiring founders and early-stage builders from ideation to MVP launch with structured support.

Soft loan of up to Rs. 15 lakhs at 6% simple interest for early-stage Kerala startups building innovative products, from the Kerala Startup Mission.

Interest-free seed loan for Bihar-registered validation-stage startups, with bonus for women/SC/ST/differently-abled.

Funding for Kerala-registered revenue-stage tech startups with collateral-free debt.

Soft loan for women entrepreneurs in Kerala with government/PSU project orders.

Credit guarantee cover up to Rs 20 crore that lets banks, NBFCs and AIFs lend to DPIIT-recognised startups without collateral. You receive a loan and repay it. CGSS is not a grant.

Collateral-free credit guarantee up to ₹2 crore for micro & small enterprises

Collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh for micro and small non-farm businesses

Below-market soft loans from ₹10 lakh for MSMEs in manufacturing and services

Subordinate debt with 90% CGTMSE guarantee for stressed/NPA-classified MSMEs

Below-market NABARD loans for dairy cooperatives and producer companies for processing infrastructure

University of California robotics and AI challenge for student teams solving real farm problems: over US$200,000 in prizes and startup support, open to students worldwide. Proposals due 13 November 2026 (the Participate page says 13 December).

A nationwide buildathon for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs to build and scale AI-powered solutions with Google AI, expert mentorship, and startup grants and credits.

DARPA's prize contest for autonomous trauma-surgery robots: US$3.5 million in prizes, up to US$1 million (about ₹9.5 crore) per lane. Qualification closes 14 November 2026 IST.

Online semiconductor contest for university students only, with India as its own competing region. Top prize US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) per track; abstracts due 14 November 2026.

An India-wide grand challenge inviting students, startups, and enterprises to build innovative digital twin solutions for India's logistics sector, offering cash prizes and access to key datasets.

Free global pitch competition for high school founders, with a US$5,000 (about ₹4.75 lakh) equity-free grand prize. Applications close 14 November 2026.

CII Foundation and Cadence offer ₹10 lakh financial assistance, mentorship, and a field pilot opportunity to market-ready crop residue management startups.

Two-week online hackathon on NEAR for AI agents and cross-chain payments; US$250,000 pool, top prize US$55,000, paid in NEAR. Closes 14 Nov 2026.

An online, beginner-friendly hackathon with a $300 prize pool, open to participants worldwide including India.

A national challenge to identify and accelerate validated, deployable innovations addressing heat and climate-health challenges in India, offering cash prizes and support.