Chitkara Innovation Incubator Foundation

This is the main door into CIIF and the one most founders should use first. It takes applications on a rolling basis, with no cohort dates published, and it is open to outside founders rather than only to Chitkara students. It also matters as a precondition: CIIF's seed support route requires three months of association with this programme before you are eligible for the money.

What you get

• Mentoring from industry experts and experienced mentors.
• Routes to funding through the government schemes CIIF hosts, and through angel investors and venture capital funds.
• A co-working space on campus, and subsidised office space.
• Introductions to other founders, investors and corporate partners.
• Workshops, master classes and bootcamps.

Who can apply

• Early-stage startups with a clear idea.
• Growth-stage startups looking to scale.
• Founders in any sector — CIIF names technology, healthcare and education, and says it wants to hear from any sector where the idea can make a difference.
• No incorporation requirement, no state restriction and no student-only rule is stated.

How selection works: you submit the online application form, CIIF's team reviews it and shortlists startups for an interview, and the startups it selects are onboarded into the programme.

How to apply: use the application form linked from CIIF's incubate-with-us page. Questions go to ciif@chitkara.edu.in.

CIIF hosts this seed fund under the Department of Science and Technology's NIDHI programme. It is not a grant — CIIF invests and takes a stake, and the terms are set out plainly on its page.

What you get

• Seed investment, structured as equity, compulsorily convertible preference shares, compulsorily convertible debentures or debt, with the structure decided by CIIF's seed support management committee.
• Money usable for technology development and de-risking, scale-up, market entry, product development, mentoring, consultancy and intellectual property work. No more than a tenth of it may go to team salaries, and it cannot be used to repay loans, create personal assets, make inter-corporate deposits or benefit the promoters.

Who can apply

• A company registered in India, preferably already recognised by or applied to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• You must have completed at least three months of association with CIIF's resident or virtual incubation programme, or be willing to be incubated at CIIF for three months first.
• Clarity on your unique selling proposition, proven through customer validation.
• At least 51 per cent shareholding held by Indian promoters. Overseas Citizens of India and Persons of Indian Origin count as Indian citizens here.
• Registered as a private limited company, with founders working on it full time, and willing to give up equity against the investment.
• Not an Indian subsidiary of a multinational or foreign company, and not already seed-supported by another incubation centre, centre of excellence or innovation hub in India.
• Preference goes to startups that have taken no central or state government money, that already have a commitment from an outside investor, and that have hardware-based products.

How selection works: a seed support management committee constituted by CIIF selects the startups and its decision is final. A term sheet and a shareholder agreement follow, equity is taken on a pre-money valuation, CIIF appoints a board nominee director or observer, and an exit is expected within three to five years. You report to the committee twice a year and share audited accounts annually.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Details from ciif@chitkara.edu.in.

PRAYAS is the earliest-stage money CIIF handles: it is meant to take an idea to a working prototype, and it is one of the few routes here open to an individual rather than a company. The last deadline published on the page has passed, so treat it as between intakes and email before you start.

What you get

• A prototyping grant, plus access to CIIF's infrastructure and its mentors. Support can run up to 18 months.

Who can apply

• An Indian citizen with government-issued proof of nationality, at least 18 years old on the date of application.
• An individual innovator, a team, a startup, or an employee or student of an academic or research institution. A startup must be under seven years from incorporation with turnover no higher than the scheme's ceiling in any year since it started. An employee or student needs a no-objection certificate from their institution covering both permission to apply and ownership of the intellectual property.
• The project must involve physical product development. Ideas that are purely software or app development are not eligible, and neither is pure academic research.
• You must own the project know-how and the intellectual property, and be fully committed to the prototype rather than treating the support as a stopgap.
• You may take PRAYAS only once, and not in parallel with a NIDHI entrepreneur-in-residence fellowship.
• Preference goes to women innovators and young innovators, and to innovators who have put in part of the project cost themselves or secured a co-investment commitment.

How selection works: applications are screened on innovation, potential for commercialisation and startup creation, and team capability and commitment. CIIF says screening usually takes four to six weeks from the close of applications, and the screening committee's decision is final.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Questions go to prayas@chitkara.edu.in.

CIIF describes itself as a portfolio incubator under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and publishes a list of the startups it has funded through it. The scheme itself is national and its terms are set by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, not by CIIF.

What you get

• Support for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation, given as a grant and separately as debt or convertible debentures. A startup may take each form once.

Who can apply

• A startup recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, incorporated no more than two years before applying.
• A business idea for a product or service with market fit, viable commercialisation and room to scale.
• Technology at the core of the product, service, business model, distribution model or methodology.
• At least 51 per cent shareholding held by Indian promoters at the time of applying to the incubator.
• You must not already have taken monetary support above the scheme's ceiling under any other central or state government scheme.
• Preference goes to startups working on social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas and textiles.

How to apply: CIIF's scheme page links a seed fund application guide. Because CIIF publishes no dated call of its own here, email ciif@chitkara.edu.in to check whether it is currently taking applications through this route.

CIIF runs this under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's TIDE 2.0 scheme. The page announces an open call but carries no closing date, so check before you apply.

What you get

• Grant support to take a validated proof of concept to a prototype or a minimum viable product, plus product development assistance, access to technical experts and mentoring.
• A timeline of 12 months, extendable to 18 in special cases with the committee's approval.

Who can apply

• A startup with an innovative idea that uses technology, registered as a private limited company or a limited liability partnership in India.
• Founders must be Indian citizens, with at least half the shareholding held by Indian citizens.
• Not more than ten years from incorporation, with turnover below the scheme's ceiling in every year since it started.
• Recognition by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade may be preferred.
• The focus is on information and communication technology startups using emerging technologies such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain and robotics in areas of societal relevance. Ideas that are purely software or app development are excluded.
• You cannot take this alongside the TIDE fellowship, and you cannot take it if you have already been supported once under TIDE.

How selection works: applications are judged on the team, how different the idea is from what already exists, the relevance of the problem, whether there is a proof of concept to build from, whether the work fits the time frame, and whether the innovation is sustainable technically and in the market.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page.

This is the fellowship half of CIIF's TIDE 2.0 work, and it is aimed squarely at people straight out of a degree rather than at existing companies. The page announces an open call but carries no closing date.

What you get

• A monthly fellowship stipend for 12 months, with the programme running 12 to 18 months against milestones.
• Access to networks, mentors and other fellows.

Who can apply

• You must have finished a basic degree in the sciences, engineering, biotechnology, medicine, law or a similar field by the time you accept the fellowship, or be in your final year and not seeking placement.
• You must be under 25.
• You must have no other source of income, and must not be a promoter, shareholder or beneficiary of another company.
• You must register your own company within three months of accepting the fellowship.
• Intellectual property stays with you, and you must intend to commercialise it.
• You may take this only once, and not alongside the TIDE grant. If you raise funding or investment for the idea, the fellowship stops.
• Ideas that are purely software or app development are excluded.

How selection works: applications are judged on how different the idea is, the relevance of the problem, whether there is a proof of concept, whether the work fits the time frame, and whether the innovation is sustainable.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. One of the two apply links on that page is broken, so if a link fails, email ciif@chitkara.edu.in.

GENESIS is MeitY's scheme for founders outside the metros, and CIIF runs three of its routes. This is the earliest of them.

What you get

• Funding support for prototype development, product creation and scaling.
• Mentorship from industry leaders and technical experts.
• Co-working space, labs and testing centres.
• Introductions to investors, corporates and government bodies, plus workshops, bootcamps and courses.

Who can apply

• An Indian citizen, at least 18 at the time of applying, a first-generation entrepreneur working full time on the idea throughout the fellowship.
• Your startup must be at ideation, validation or early stage, with total outside funding, including government grants, below the scheme's ceiling.
• You may apply as an individual from a Tier-II or Tier-III city, or as a startup registered as a private limited company or a limited liability partnership under Indian law.
• The work must be technological innovation in electronics design and manufacturing, information and communication technology, or deeptech software and products, with room to scale and measurable impact in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
• Neither you nor the startup may have taken substantial prior funding for the same idea, and you must submit a plan for how the support will be used.
• You must be physically incubated at the incubator for the duration.

How to apply: the application runs on MeitY Startup Hub's own portal, tagged to Chitkara, and is linked from CIIF's programme page.

This route is for the moment a large customer has agreed to try your product and you need to fund the deployment. The purchase order is the gate, not a nice-to-have.

What you get

• Funding support for product deployment on a pilot with a corporate, a public sector undertaking or a large enterprise.
• Mentorship, co-working space, labs and testing centres, investor and government networking, and training.

Who can apply

• A registered Indian private limited company with at least 51 per cent Indian ownership, registered in a Tier-II or Tier-III city, holding a valid recognition certificate from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• Working in information and communication technology domains: information technology and artificial intelligence, electronic design and manufacturing, or technology and deeptech products.
• A minimum viable product or working prototype, a viable business plan, and full-time founders.
• A pilot work order or purchase order from the Government of India, a state government, a Fortune 500 company, a large corporate with several years of operations and substantial turnover, a public sector undertaking, or a unicorn startup.
• You must not have taken funding under the MeitY TIDE 2.0 scaleup investment route or the MeitY SAMRIDH scheme, and must not be in any legal dispute. Granted patents may count in your favour.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page.

The last of CIIF's three GENESIS routes, and the only one that takes equity. It is designed to match money an outside investor has already committed, so that a startup outside the metros can close a round and scale.

What you get

• Equity-based matching investment for acceleration and scaling.
• Mentorship, co-working space, labs and testing centres, investor and government networking, and training.

Who can apply

• A registered Indian private limited company with at least 51 per cent Indian ownership, registered in a Tier-II or Tier-III city, holding a valid recognition certificate from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• Working on a technology product or software in deeptech, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, the internet of things, blockchain, fintech, edtech or healthtech.
• A market-ready product, preferably already generating revenue.
• A funding commitment already in hand from an angel investor or a venture capital fund. Government grants do not count towards this.
• You must not have taken funding under the MeitY TIDE 2.0 scaleup investment route or the MeitY SAMRIDH scheme, and must not be in any legal dispute. Granted patents may count in your favour.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page, or through the ministry's own portal, both of which CIIF links.

Xcelerator is the one programme on this list that is CIIF's own rather than a government scheme it hosts. It is cohort-based and runs for three months, partly online and partly on campus. The only application dates published on its page are from 2023, and CIIF's navigation also lists an AgriXcelerator edition for 2025 that has no page behind it, so treat this as between intakes and ask before planning around it.

What you get

• Three months of structured work, run online and in person.
• Tailored one-to-one technical and business mentoring, plus domain-specific mentoring.
• Cohort workshops on the business model canvas, startup valuation and negotiating an investor term sheet.
• Introductions to venture capital funds and angel investors, and access to funding support for startups that qualify.
• A demo day at the end.

Who can apply

• Startups in agritech, healthtech, deeptech, the internet of things, renewable energy, electric vehicles and smart mobility, drones, edtech, fintech, e-commerce, social impact, waste management and other emerging sectors.
• CIIF publishes no further eligibility rules for this programme.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page, when a cohort is open.