StartupGrants India
विशेषज्ञ
Department of Science & Technology
Government

Department of Science & Technology

Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India

New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaEst. 1971

India's apex S&T ministry funding science-driven startups from prototype to scale via NIDHI and NSTEDB.

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Programs by Department of Science & Technology

7 past programs

Past programs
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Ignition Grant under the NIDHI iTBI Scheme at AdtU

Grant
Up to ₹10 Lakhs

Up to ₹10 lakh ignition grant for Healthcare and ICT-based startups (AI, IoT, Blockchain, Robotics) to develop prototypes/MVPs, with mentorship, lab access, and networking support under NIDHI iTBI …

  • Startups focused on pure software development, e-commerce, service models, or app-based solutions are not eligible
Details
Closed

India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme

Grant
Up to ₹1.5 Cr

Joint Indo-Swedish R&D grant for green transition in steel and cement industries, offering up to ₹1.5 crore per project.

  • * At least 51% ownership of the IPC must be held by Indian citizens for the entire project duration
  • * The IPC must have the required expertise and team capacity
  • * Applicants must possess basic infrastructure/test beds and a developed Proof of Concept (PoC)
Details
Closed

NIDHI Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS)

Grant
Up to ₹10 Lakhs

Early-stage prototype development grant of up to ₹10 lakh for young innovators, with access to infrastructure and mentorship at Technology Business Incubators (TBIs).

  • Students, Researchers, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Startups are eligible to apply for support under the program
Details
Closed

NIDHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Grant
Up to ₹30,000

The NIDHI-Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program provides stipends and mentorship to aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their technology business ideas full-time while hosted at a participating Tech…

Details
Closed

National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)

GrantRevenue

A multi-stakeholder mission by DST to establish 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) across India, fostering R&D, translational research, product development, startup incubation, and commercializat…

  • The mission involves collaboration between academia, industry, government, and international organizations
  • Researchers, academic institutions, and industry partners can participate by collaborating with the TIHs
Details
Closed

NIDHI - Seed Support System (NIDHI-SSS)

Grant
Up to ₹1 Cr

A seed support program under NIDHI that provides financial assistance to promising startups through incubators/TBIs, bridging the gap between development and commercialization.

  • - Incubatee should be a registered company in India
  • \n- The shareholding by Indian promoters in the incubate start-up should be at least 51%
  • \n- Minimum of three months of residency at a STEP/TBI is required
Details
Closed

India-Canada Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme 2025

Grant
Up to ₹1.5 Cr

A joint India-Canada R&D program offering non-dilutive grants up to ₹1.5 crore for market-oriented collaborative projects involving companies, R&D organizations, and academic institutions.

  • * At least 51% ownership of the IPL must be held by Indian citizens
  • * The IPL should have the required expertise and team capacity
  • * Sole proprietors, One Person Company (OPC) and partnership firms are not eligible
Details

About Department of Science & Technology

Department of Science & Technology (DST), India

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) is a central government department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Established on 3 May 1971, DST serves as the nodal body for organising, coordinating, and promoting scientific and technological activities across the country. Headquartered at Technology Bhavan, New Delhi, DST commands an annual budget of approximately ₹6,067 crore.

Key Startup & Innovation Programs

NIDHI (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations): Launched in 2016, NIDHI is DST's flagship umbrella programme for converting knowledge-based innovations into successful startups. Sub-schemes include:

  • NIDHI-PRAYAS: Up to ₹10 lakhs per innovator for idea-to-prototype development. PRAYAS 2.0 enables up to ₹40 lakhs via Advance PRAYAS Centres. Targets physical product/hardware innovation in manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, cleantech, energy, water, and IoT — not pure-SaaS or e-commerce.

  • NIDHI-TBI (Technology Business Incubator): DST funds incubators hosted at academic/research institutions to nurture knowledge-driven startups.

  • NIDHI-SSP (Seed Support Program): Early-stage equity-free funding to promising startups incubated at NIDHI-TBIs.

  • NIDHI-Accelerator: Supports TBIs with 3+ years' experience and 20+ incubated startups to run formal accelerator programmes.

NSTEDB (National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board): Established in 1982, supports S&T-based entrepreneurship through Science & Technology Entrepreneur Parks (STEPs), incubation, and capacity-building.

Who Should Apply

DST/NIDHI is best suited for science and technology-driven innovators and startups — particularly those building physical products or hardware — at the ideation and validation stages. Academic entrepreneurs, researchers, and deep-tech founders with product innovation in sectors like healthcare, agritech, energy, manufacturing, and clean technology. Applicants must typically be affiliated with or incubated at a DST-recognised TBI.

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