Entrepreneurship Promotion and Incubation Council (EPIC)

Check you are in the right place

• EPIC is a technology business incubator promoted by a college, not the college itself. You do not need to be a student of the host college.
• It favours technology startups and, in particular, founders who want to build manufacturing enterprises in electronics, mechanical engineering or biotechnology.
• The programmes are described for Indian nationals.

Choosing a programme

• Only an idea, unsure what to build: Idea Exploration, Identification and Assessment (1–3 Months).
• A technology idea to test in the market: Idea Validation (3 Months).
• Idea validated, need a proof of concept and a business plan: the proof of concept, market research and business plan programme (3–6 Months).
• Proof of concept ready, need a prototype: Prototyping and market validation (3–6 Months).
• Product built, ready to scale: Commercialisation (6–12 Months).
• Want a short course on starting a business: the 15 Days Entrepreneurship Development Program.

How to apply

• Prepare a focused presentation of about 10 pages in any format you like. EPIC asks you to cover the problem, product and market, market size, solution, competition and why you would be better, market strategy, what you plan to achieve while at EPIC, and what you expect from EPIC.
• When it is ready, contact EPIC on +91-9896000300 or at info@epicambala.com. No application portal or deadline is stated.
• Expect a multi-stage selection: online application, screening, a pitch to a selection panel, and a final discussion.

What reviewers look for

• EPIC says it judges perseverance, passion for the project, ability to work hard, knowledge and visualisation.
• For the contests, the stated criteria were right identification of the problem, relevance of the solution, the uniqueness of the solution, feasibility and how well you answer panel questions.
• You will be expected to form a company, and EPIC says it can help.

Before you plan around funding

• The grant and fellowship pages on EPIC's site describe national schemes without stating a call or a deadline. Ask EPIC whether they are open and who is eligible.
• EPIC does not say whether incubation programmes charge fees or take equity, so ask before you apply.

The Entrepreneurship Promotion and Incubation Council (EPIC), also called EPIC TBI, is a technology business incubator in Ambala, Haryana. It is a not-for-profit Section 8 company promoted by Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research (ACE) and set up as a NIDHI-TBI under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. It sits inside the college block on the Ambala Cantt – Jagadhari Road, and its stated focus is technology business incubation, with a preference for founders who want to build manufacturing enterprises.

How EPIC works

EPIC describes itself as a single point of contact for innovation, incubation, entrepreneurship and commercialisation. It is built around a few parts that support each other. A Model Industrial Enterprise is meant to run as a working commercial enterprise where students get internships and project roles. A Project Centre is meant to bring problems from public-sector bodies and large companies to entrepreneurs. An Incubation Centre selects and mentors founders. A student practical activity centre called SPACE brings students from the second year onwards into enterprise projects. A Thrust Area gives incubatees low-cost access to production facilities that its promoters already run in their own businesses. Incubatees can be on campus, taking space in the Incubation Centre, or off campus, working from their own space; both get mentorship and the use of EPIC's facilities. Hostel and mess facilities are available on campus for incubatees who come from outside.

Programmes

EPIC lists a ladder of incubation programmes by stage. Idea Exploration, Identification and Assessment runs for 1–3 Months and helps an innovator decide what to work on. Idea Validation runs for 3 Months. A programme on proof of concept, market research and business plan development, and a programme on prototyping and market validation, each run for 3–6 Months. Commercialisation, for startups that already have a product and want to scale it, runs for 6–12 Months. The first four are built around hands-on workshops by industry mentors (weekly in the first, monthly in the others) and are selected by a pitch to a panel; the validation, proof of concept and prototyping programmes also include one-to-one mentoring. There is also a 15 Days Entrepreneurship Development Program that ends with participants writing a business plan.

EPIC's pages also describe a proof of concept and prototype grant and an Entrepreneurship in Residence fellowship for graduating students. These read as national scheme descriptions: the pages give no call, dates or application route, so ask EPIC whether they are open before you plan around them. Over the years EPIC has also run the Idea Exploration contest series, most recently with a final presentation on 27 Sep 2024, plus student awareness and student entrepreneurship programmes, and the ACE-EPIC Idea Challenge in 2023.

Who can apply

The programmes are open to Indian nationals with a technology-based, innovative idea, and the earliest one prefers a technology background. Applicants do not have to be students of the host college; the Idea Exploration contest was open to everyone aged 18-45, including working professionals and entrepreneurs in business for not more than 3 years. To be incubated, a founder is expected to form a company, and EPIC says it can help with that. EPIC says it judges perseverance, passion for the project, ability to work hard, knowledge and vision. For the later programmes, startups apply through an application form and shortlisted startups pitch to a selection committee. EPIC does not state whether its programmes charge fees or take equity.

Facilities

The metalworking laboratory has a CNC lathe, conventional lathe, 3D printer, cylindrical grinder, injection moulding machine, milling machine, power press, surface grinder, an air compressor, and power and hand tools. The electronics and prototyping laboratory has fabrication tools including 3D scanners and printers, temperature, pressure and humidity calibration standards, PCB design and inspection tools, and a pick and place machine and stencil printer for surface-mount assembly. EPIC also lists a biotech lab facility with high throughput instrumentation for research and development work, though its page does not name the instruments.

Recognition and track record

EPIC states that it was established as a NIDHI Technology Business Incubator under a DST sanction order dated 7 June 2019. DST's own combined list of TBIs and NIDHI TBIs, Sr. 40, names Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research as the host institute and the Entrepreneurship Promotion and Incubation Council as the registered incubator, with manufacturing in electronics, mechanical and biotechnology as the thrust area. That register shows no sanction period or status, so it cannot tell you whether the funding is current. EPIC is also listed among Startup Haryana's approved incubators, and says it registered on 7 July 2025 as a private incubator. Its own page shows a certificate of empanelment under the Chandigarh Startup Policy 2025, issued on 27/08/2026; this is EPIC's own statement. It also says it has ISBA membership.

EPIC's portfolio page names 16 incubated startups, from AI services and agritech to medical devices and drone motors, with figures that each startup reports about itself. EPIC publishes no total count of startups supported.

Who runs it

EPIC was conceived and is guided by seven Ambala entrepreneurs, who sit on its advisory group and work in electronics, instruments, motors, packaging and education equipment. Its pages give two different totals for their combined experience, so none is repeated here.

Location and contact

EPIC Block, Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research, Devsthali, Ambala Cantt – Jagadhari Road, P.O. Sambhalkha, Ambala, Haryana, Pin – 133 101. Phone +91-9896000300, email info@epicambala.com.