Department of Science & Technology

Department of Science & Technology (DST), India

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) is a central government department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Established on 3 May 1971, DST serves as the nodal body for organising, coordinating, and promoting scientific and technological activities across the country. Headquartered at Technology Bhavan, New Delhi, DST commands an annual budget of approximately ₹6,067 crore.

Key Startup & Innovation Programs

NIDHI (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations): Launched in 2016, NIDHI is DST's flagship umbrella programme for converting knowledge-based innovations into successful startups. Sub-schemes include:

• NIDHI-PRAYAS: Up to ₹10 lakhs per innovator for idea-to-prototype development. PRAYAS 2.0 enables up to ₹40 lakhs via Advance PRAYAS Centres. Targets physical product/hardware innovation in manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, cleantech, energy, water, and IoT — not pure-SaaS or e-commerce.

• NIDHI-TBI (Technology Business Incubator): DST funds incubators hosted at academic/research institutions to nurture knowledge-driven startups.

• NIDHI-SSP (Seed Support Program): Early-stage equity-free funding to promising startups incubated at NIDHI-TBIs.

• NIDHI-Accelerator: Supports TBIs with 3+ years' experience and 20+ incubated startups to run formal accelerator programmes.

NSTEDB (National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board): Established in 1982, supports S&T-based entrepreneurship through Science & Technology Entrepreneur Parks (STEPs), incubation, and capacity-building.

Who Should Apply

DST/NIDHI is best suited for science and technology-driven innovators and startups — particularly those building physical products or hardware — at the ideation and validation stages. Academic entrepreneurs, researchers, and deep-tech founders with product innovation in sectors like healthcare, agritech, energy, manufacturing, and clean technology. Applicants must typically be affiliated with or incubated at a DST-recognised TBI.