SNS Incubation Centre, BIT Sindri

Check you fit the gate first

• BIT Sindri students, alumni, faculty and staff are the centre's first audience and the clearest fit.
• Outside founders: the registration procedure says a startup or company with registration under the Jharkhand Government can apply. Without Jharkhand registration, ask the centre before spending time on a proposal.
• Seed funding is only for registered companies. If you are not yet incorporated, you can still seek space, but not a seed loan.

How applications work

• Fill the Pre-Admission Response Sheet from the centre office or website, or write a short proposal and company profile.
• Email the application and business plan to entrepreneurialcell@bitsindri.ac.in, or send a hard copy to the SNS Incubation Centre at BIT Sindri.
• The centre's internal team reviews it, then you submit a formal application with a detailed proposal, then experts review and you have an initial meeting.
• No deadline is stated.

What the business plan should cover

• The problem and who has it
• Your value proposition
• What makes your technology or business model different
• Revenue model and pricing
• Sales and marketing plan
• Your team and advisors
• Financial projections, how much you need to raise, and when you expect to break even

Before you apply

• Confirm the intake is open. The published documents date from 2019 to 2021 and show no current cohort.
• Ask which term applies. The policy gives 24 months, with an extension, while the registration note says 11 months.
• Understand the money terms. Rent is monthly, seed funding is a repayable soft loan with a personal guarantee, and the centre can hold equity in companies it funds.

SNS Incubation Centre is the incubation unit of BIT Sindri, a government engineering college in Sindri, Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Its policy describes it as an innovation and entrepreneurship hub run by BIT Sindri under the state government of Jharkhand. The centre sits in the IT Building on the BIT Sindri campus and offers desks, labs and mentoring to startups. Read the eligibility section before applying: this is a campus-linked centre, and outside founders are accepted only on a condition.

Who can apply

The centre's policy lists who may be admitted: engineering graduates of BIT, current and past faculty and permanent staff, alumni, BIT's research partners, government agencies linked to BIT Sindri research, and graduates registered in Jharkhand. It also lists society at large. The policy sentence about graduates from across the country is cut off in the document we read, so it is not clear how far that door opens.

The registration procedure is plainer. It says any incubatee, startup or company that has registration under the Jharkhand Government can apply. If you are not a BIT Sindri student, alumnus or staff member, plan on being registered in Jharkhand.

The centre says it focuses on technology startups, but is open to ideas in other fields. It names these areas, among others: earth system sciences including mining, petroleum and minerals; information and communication technology; artificial intelligence and machine learning; cyber security; biotechnology; medical devices and health care; automobile and transport technology; food, agriculture and food processing; renewable energy; clean water; sanitation and waste management; and smart and functional materials.

How incubation works

The centre describes four stages: ideation, pre-incubation (idea validation up to a proof of concept), incubation (proof of concept to a business) and acceleration (scale-up of a proven business). Ventures are sorted into three categories. Type I is a project started by BIT Sindri staff, students or alumni. Type II is a technology startup by a first-generation entrepreneur who wants an R&D partnership with BIT Sindri. Type III is a technology or R&D unit of an existing small or medium company that wants a close link with the institute.

Applicants first submit a short Pre-Admission Response Sheet, which the centre team reviews. A formal application with a detailed proposal follows, then expert review and an initial meeting. The centre's evaluation committee decides admission. Companies may stay in the incubation cells for 24 months to begin with, and the centre may let them stay up to 12 months more at its own discretion. The separate registration procedure instead mentions a rent period of 11 months, so confirm the term with the centre.

What you get

The incubation space is 2500 sq. ft. with furniture, computers, a classroom, a conference hall, a meeting room and a seating area, and the policy says it can hold more than 40 incubatees at a time. Incubatees get co-working or individual office space, round-the-clock Wi-Fi and LAN, shared printing and scanning, access to conference halls, the institute auditoriums, the library and a cafeteria.

The policy also says incubators can use the Centre of Excellence lab by Siemens, which has fourteen labs, including advanced manufacturing, automation, CNC, mechatronics, robotics and rapid prototyping. The registration procedure adds departmental laboratories, a nano technology lab and an IoT lab. These labs belong to the institute, and incubatees get access to them.

Support includes monthly group mentoring by alumni and faculty plus one-to-one sessions, pitching and networking opportunities, training on business models and business plans, in-house help with accounting, tax, company secretary, legal and IP services, and introductions to angel investors, venture capitalists and financial institutions. Incubated companies may apply to use the label Incubated by BIT Sindri.

Cost, funding and equity

Incubated companies pay a monthly rent for a cubicle or a single seat, plus electricity and other charges. The exact rent is in the centre's own documents.

The policy says the centre may provide seed funding in association with ABVIL of Ranchi, subject to funds being available. It is given only to registered companies, and admission does not automatically bring seed funding. The seed money is a soft loan repaid with simple interest and backed by a personal guarantee, or a mix of loan and equity agreed with the centre. The policy also says the centre holds a share of the companies it invests in, may nominate directors to their boards, and can sell its shares after 5 Years.

Track record and what to check

The Start-up Cell page lists six incubatees: ARENYAM Technologies, MORPH Software, yourFirstAD, Urja Viable Solutions, GET MAID Household Services and HUMANBIRD. The policy also records that incubatees were felicitated at the Jharkhand Startup Hackathon in 2019.

Most of what is published about the centre dates from 2019 to 2021, including the registration procedure posted in 2021. The pages show no intake dates and no recent cohort, so write to the centre to confirm that it is admitting companies before you plan around it.

Start-up Cell and events

BIT Sindri also runs a Start-up Cell that acts as a pre-incubator for students and faculty. It hosts an annual entrepreneurship summit through the E-Cell and other events such as Navonmesh and Vishleshan.

Where it is

SNS Incubation Centre is at G-11, IT Building, BIT Sindri, Sindri, Dhanbad, Jharkhand 828123. Applications go by email to the centre's entrepreneurial cell inbox, or by hard copy to the centre.