C-DAC

Choosing the right route

• For technology: respond to the call on the tenders and expressions of interest page that matches what you build.
• For a government challenge: the Blockchain India Challenge 2026 round has closed. Watch for a later round.
• For a C2S proposal: pick the stream that fits your project, such as the collaborative project stream for a system or chip build.
• For training: the PG course is for individuals, not startups.

How applications work

• Technology calls ask for an expression of interest, and each call then follows its own process.
• C2S proposals are submitted online, in the format MeitY prescribes.
• PG courses start with registration on the C-DAC website. Admission then follows C-CAT ranks and counselling rounds.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is a research and development organisation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. It works on advanced computing, electronics and IT, and it licenses its technology to industry. It has a unit in Pune, and its training centres are spread across India.

How its programmes work

C-DAC offers several routes for outside organisations. Its tenders and expressions of interest page lists transfer-of-technology contracts, licensing calls, contract R&D, and calls for channel partners and technology development partners. Its engagement models include joint research with academia, research organisations and private industry, including MSMEs and startups, taken through to the market. Each call sets its own terms and dates.

MeitY runs the Blockchain India Challenge, with C-DAC listed as its technology partner. The challenge sought citizen-centric solutions that use Blockchain and Web3 to promote transparent, tamper-resistant storage and audit trails of transactions. Solutions had to be non-crypto. The 2026 round has closed.

Chips to Startup (C2S) is an umbrella programme MeitY has initiated, for system, SoC and IP core development. Startups and MSMEs can submit proposals under its academia-industry collaborative project stream, or under its grand challenge, hackathon and request-for-proposal streams. C-DAC lists the programme among its projects.

C-DAC also runs Post Graduate Certificate Programmes. These are 24-week full-time courses of 1200 hours, including 300 hours of self study, worth 40 credits. They are training for individuals, not a startup programme.

Who can apply

The technology calls are open to Indian companies, firms, MSMEs and startups, subject to each call's terms. The C2S proposal streams take startups and MSMEs. The PG courses are open to candidates who qualify through C-CAT, and admission follows C-CAT ranks and counselling rounds. The Blockchain challenge was for startups building the kind of solution described above.

Scale

C-DAC says its training began with about 20 students a year and now reaches more than 5,000 students a year. It says it has grown from one training centre to about 50 across India, with a presence in several countries abroad. It also says it has implemented over 50 projects in international collaborations, with about a dozen ongoing in countries across Africa, Eastern Europe, South-East and Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. These are C-DAC's own figures, and we have not verified them.

Who runs it

C-DAC's about page places it under MeitY. Its homepage describes it as a scientific society of the Department of Information Technology, under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The two descriptions name different parent bodies.

What is not listed here

Fees, prize amounts, funding terms and closing dates for each call or course are not set out on this page. Check the call or course itself before you apply.