NIDHI PRAYAS

NIDHI PRAYAS is a Department of Science and Technology scheme for turning an idea into a working prototype, and SP-TBI is one of the centres that runs it. Its page lists three years of supported innovators by name. There is no apply button on the page, so check with the centre whether a call is open.

What you get

• Grant support to build the prototype
• Co-working space to work in while you build
• Access to the Prayas Shala workshop and to campus labs for IoT, AR and VR, digital work, robotics, electronics and mechanics
• Mentorship, networking and a place at startup events
• Help hiring

Who can apply

• Individual innovators or early-stage startups
• Indian citizens aged eighteen or over with government proof of nationality
• Innovators with a technical background and a route to commercialisation
• Products that are physical — pure software, e-commerce, service and app-only ideas are excluded, as are doctoral and long-term research projects and products already past prototype stage
• Prototypes that can be finished within eighteen months
• Startups within seven years of incorporation, under the turnover ceiling the scheme sets

Preference may go to innovators who have bootstrapped or have co-investment commitments, who have a clear commercialisation roadmap, and to women and young innovators. Priority areas are manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, clean-tech, energy, water and the internet of things.

How to apply: the page carries no form or application link. Write to managertbi@spit.ac.in to ask whether a round is open.