E-YUVA
A programme by BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council)
Fellowships and research grants for students and young researchers, hosted at E-YUVA Centres inside universities and institutes.
At a glance
| Best for | Undergraduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral students and young researchers |
|---|---|
| Stage | Idea – Prototype |
| Format | In person |
| Cost | Free, no equity |
| Grant support | For selected startups. A place in the programme does not by itself guarantee a grant. |
About E-YUVA
E-YUVA — Empowering Youth for Undertaking Value Added Innovative Translational Research — is BIRAC's scheme for building applied-research and entrepreneurial habits among students and young researchers. It runs through E-YUVA Centres, which sit inside a university or institute and are mentored by a BIRAC-supported BioNEST bio-incubator. Each centre holds pre-incubation space of 3,000 sq ft or more with basic research equipment; anything more advanced goes through the linked bio-incubator. BIRAC's own page currently states there are no active calls.
What you get
- A fellowship and a research grant.
- Technical and business mentoring, exposure to how bio-incubation works, and an orientation to entrepreneurial culture.
- Bench space and equipment in the centre's pre-incubation area, plus entrepreneurial awareness workshops.
Who can apply
- BIRAC's Innovation Fellows: postgraduates and above.
- BIRAC's E-YUVA Fellows: undergraduate students.
- Proposals can be in any domain including healthcare, life sciences, diagnostics, medical devices, drugs, vaccines, drug formulations and delivery, industrial biotechnology, bioinformatics, agriculture, secondary agriculture, waste management, sanitation and clean energy — including work applying artificial intelligence, the internet of things or automation to those fields. Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.
How selection works: fellows are chosen through a national application and shortlisting process, run with the E-YUVA Centres and their knowledge partners.
How to apply: register and apply on the BIRAC website when a call is live. The scheme page carries a step-by-step application guide, the prescribed authorisation letter and mentor undertaking formats, and contact details for every E-YUVA Centre — which is the useful place to start, since your centre is who you will work with.
Where to apply
Other BIRAC programmes
- BIG — Biotechnology Ignition GrantBIRAC's flagship grant for early-stage biotech startups, funding the work of taking an idea to proof of concept over up to 18 months.
- i4 — SBIRI and BIPPCost-shared grant funding for Indian companies and LLPs with in-house R&D, from early validation through to pre-commercialisation.
- PACE — Promoting Academic Research Conversion to EnterpriseGrant funding for academic institutions to take research to proof of concept, and for an industry partner to validate it.
- SITARE — Students Innovations for Translation & Advancement of Research ExplorationsAward grants for student biotech projects with commercial potential, plus residential ignition schools for undergraduates.
- BioNEST — Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling TechnologiesBIRAC's scheme for funding bio-incubators — the network a biotech founder joins, though the application goes to the incubator, not to BIRAC.
- SEED FundBIRAC's first equity exposure for post-proof-of-concept biotech startups, deployed by partner BioNEST incubators.
- LEAP FundEquity for biotech startups moving from proof of concept to pilot and commercialisation, deployed by six partner incubators.
- Fund of Funds — AcEBIRAC invests in SEBI-registered alternative investment funds, which in turn invest in biotech startups and SMEs.
- SPARSH — Social Innovation Programme for ProductsFellowships and kick-start grants for biotech innovators working on affordable products for societal health. Currently between calls.
- Product Commercialization Program FundFunding for market launch and large-scale commercialisation of validated BIRAC-supported technologies. The call is currently closed.
- IP and Technology Management supportBIRAC's in-house IP cell offers patent searches, drafting and filing help, technology transfer and patent assistance funding to biotech startups, SMEs and academia.