Startup India Seed Fund Scheme at iHub – AWaDH

AWaDH is one of the incubators through which the national Startup India Seed Fund Scheme is disbursed. The scheme supports proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation for startups that cannot yet raise from angels, VCs or banks. AWaDH reports more than twelve hundred and eighty applications, over two hundred pitches and thirty-two startups funded through this route so far, nine of which it names publicly.

What you get

• Seed support released against milestones, as a grant for proof of concept and prototype work and as a debt or convertible instrument for market entry and scale-up.
• Mentoring, technology development help, lab infrastructure and R&D support alongside the money.
• Corporate and government network access.

Who can apply

• Startups recognised by DPIIT.
• Incorporated no more than two years before applying.
• Working in AWaDH's focus areas: agriculture automation and information systems, livestock health monitoring, water treatment and conservation, soil assessment, or hardware and deep tech.

How selection works: you apply on the national seed fund portal and pick up to three incubators in order of preference. The incubator screens against the scheme's criteria, shortlisted startups present to the Incubator Seed Management Committee, which weighs innovation, feasibility, impact, team capability and the fund utilisation plan. Selected startups go through due diligence and sign the scheme's legal agreement, after which funds are released in milestone-based instalments through the incubator.

How to apply: on the national Startup India seed fund portal, naming IIT Ropar Technology and Innovation Foundation as a preferred incubator. You need DPIIT recognition first.