MSME Idea Hackathon

A national call run by the Office of the Development Commissioner at the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, under the incubation component of the MSME Innovative Scheme. You apply on the ministry's portal and choose a host institute; IIMUIC is one of them. The last round is closed.

What you get

• Funding support to nurture and develop the selected idea, routed through the host institute you picked
• Mentorship appointed by the host institute, with the work done on the host institute's premises

Who can apply

• Students, innovators and MSMEs from anywhere in India
• Your idea must match one of the published themes, across agriculture, health, power and IT, services, and a miscellaneous category covering alternatives to single-use plastic, sustainable fashion, waste to wealth and circular solutions
• Submit each idea to only one host institute; the same idea sent to two is rejected
• Students must upload a valid current student ID
• Ideas already submitted or already approved in an earlier hackathon cannot be entered again

How selection works: four stages. The host institute evaluates first, using a panel of three to five domain experts. The ministry's programme unit screens what the host institutes send up. Five domain expert selection committees drawn from industry, academia and government then evaluate and recommend. A Project Monitoring and Advisory Committee gives final approval.

How to apply: On the ministry's MSME innovative portal, selecting a host institute in your state or a nearby one. Applicants in the MSME and other category pay a share of the development cost to the host institute before the grant is released.