Pusa Krishi (ICAR-IARI)

Start by choosing the right programme

Pusa Krishi's programmes are built for different stages, so match yours before you apply.

• Still shaping an idea: BEEJ, a short online pre-incubation boot camp.
• A woman founder wanting a focused workshop series: Her Harvest.
• An early-stage idea or startup ready for incubation: Arise.
• An MVP-stage agri startup: Upja, which pairs online learning with a year of incubation.
• Ready for a year-long incubation: SHITIJ.
• Applying through an ICAR centre near you: ICAR SHITIJ 2.0.

How applications work

Each programme has its own page and its own application round. Between intakes the pages show registration as closed, so check for the next cycle rather than assuming a programme is inactive. ICAR SHITIJ 2.0 is applied for through designated hub and spoke centres rather than a single central form.

How selection works

The incubation programmes follow a similar shape: an open application round, a selection committee interview, and a pitch to a panel of experts, after which selected startups are onboarded into the incubation facility. ICAR SHITIJ 2.0 uses a two-stage evaluation.

Check your eligibility first

Most incubation programmes expect an Indian citizen with an idea, innovation or early-stage startup in agriculture and allied sectors. Arise and Upja add conditions tied to prior government grant funding, so read the current programme page carefully before applying to confirm you still qualify.

Pusa Krishi is the agribusiness incubation unit of ICAR-IARI, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and operates from the institute's campus in New Delhi as its ZTM and BPD unit. It was established as an incubator under ICAR-IARI in 2014, and it works with founders in agriculture and allied sectors. Its own pages describe it in two ways that do not fully agree: as the incubation centre of ICAR-IARI, and as a nodal agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, so the exact institutional framing is best read directly from the organisation.

What they support

Pusa Krishi works with students, first-time entrepreneurs and early-stage founders building ideas, innovations, products or solutions for agriculture and allied sectors. Several of its programmes are open to Indian citizens with an idea or an early-stage startup, while others are shorter learning formats open more broadly. The programmes span the founder journey, from short pre-incubation masterclasses through to year-long incubation.

How programmes work

Pusa Krishi does not run a single programme. It runs a set of them, each built for a different stage. BEEJ is a fourteen-day online pre-incubation boot camp that takes a raw concept towards an incubation-ready foundation through daily masterclasses, lean canvas work, structured validation and mentorship, ending with a certificate. Her Harvest is a five-day online workshop series with women entrepreneurs and changemakers, spanning business, design, finance and technology, and it ends with an e-certificate.

Arise is an incubation programme for early-stage ideas and startups, with a one-month online phase followed by a fifteen-day training phase, after which selected startups receive an incubation facility and grant support. Upja is a two-phase incubation programme for MVP-stage agri startups, with a two-month online learning and mentoring phase and then a one-year incubation, offering technology validation, mentoring, pilot opportunities, go-to-market support and grant support for selected startups. SHITIJ is a year-long incubation programme, with a fifteen-day training and mentoring phase followed by a one-year incubation at Pusa Krishi, extendable on strong performance.

ICAR SHITIJ 2.0 is an incubation programme under the National Agriculture Innovation Fund, built on a hub-and-spoke model that connects ICAR Agribusiness Incubation Centres across the country. It offers a two-month online incubation with mentoring, technology validation, infrastructure access, pilot and market linkages and funding connects, with optional physical incubation. MAITRI is a cross-border innovation partnership initiative, with an Indo-Brazil agri-tech line, delivered as curated international cohorts rather than an open individual intake. Samarth is a capacity-building programme for incubation managers and centres in Pusa Krishi's network, rather than an intake for individual startups.

Who can apply

Eligibility depends on the programme. BEEJ and Her Harvest are open learning formats, with Her Harvest stating that all entrepreneurs are welcome. The incubation programmes generally ask that applicants be Indian citizens with an idea, innovation or early-stage startup in agriculture and allied sectors. Arise and Upja set conditions tied to prior government grant funding, so founders should check the current programme page for whether they remain eligible. ICAR SHITIJ 2.0 is open to Indian citizens with an innovation, idea, product or solution relevant to agriculture, applying through designated hub and spoke centres.

Facilities and support

Selected startups in the incubation programmes receive an incubation facility at Pusa Krishi, ICAR-IARI, alongside mentoring, technology validation, pilot opportunities and go-to-market support. Programmes draw on a panel of experts for selection pitches and on mentoring through the incubation period.

Track record

On its homepage Pusa Krishi reports more than 600 startups incubated, more than 234 funded startups, more than 55 women-led startups, 20,972 jobs generated, more than 144 intellectual-property filings and more than 392 products commercialised, with farmers benefited counted in the tens of lakhs. Its Arise programme page reports more than 1,243 applications received, more than 70 startups incubated and more than 31 startups funded, and its BEEJ page reports more than 400 applications received. These are Pusa Krishi's own published figures. Its pages also give different counts for the size of its incubator network, with one page describing a network of 31 centres under RKVY-RAFTAAR and another describing all 50 ICAR Agribusiness Incubation Centres, so those figures are best read as the organisation states them.

How to apply

Applications are made programme by programme through the official programme pages. The incubation programmes run as open application rounds followed by a selection committee interview and a pitch to a panel of experts. Several programmes publish a dated calendar for each cycle, and at the time of research the programme pages showed registration as closed between intakes, so founders should check the programme page for the current status and the next intake. ICAR SHITIJ 2.0 applications are submitted through designated hub and spoke centres, with a two-stage evaluation.

Who runs it

Pusa Krishi sits within ICAR-IARI as its ZTM and BPD unit, on the institute's New Delhi campus.