SASTRA

Choosing the right route

• Founders registered with DPIIT and incorporated in the last two years should look at the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme route through ABLEST.
• Biotech, diagnostics, therapeutics and MedTech teams are the core fit for ABLEST.
• 3D printing, IoT and AR or VR teams are the core fit for FIRST.

How applications work

• For the seed fund, email ABLEST at the address on its SISFS page.
• Check that your company meets the shareholding rule: Indian promoters must hold at least 51% at the time of application.
• Describe a business idea with a product or service, a market fit, a route to commercialisation, and room to scale.

What reviewers look for

• A technology at the core of the product, service, business model or distribution model.
• A clear problem being solved and a plan for scaling.

SASTRA Deemed University runs two technology business incubators (TBIs) from its Tirumalaisamudram campus in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Both are set up as Section 8 companies, and both are supported by central government departments.

The Foundation for Innovation and Research at SASTRA TBI (FIRST) was established in 2017 and is jointly supported by the Department of Science and Technology and SASTRA. It focuses on innovation in 3D printing, the Internet of Things, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Its facilities include a design facility, an innovation and training centre, a rapid prototyping centre and incubation and office space in a dedicated building of about 20,000 square feet. The 3D printing lab has 32 printers that work with polymers, resins, ceramics, biological materials and metals. The IoT facility has sensors, modules and signal generators, along with cloud storage for data from edge devices.

The Association for Bio-inspired Leaders and Entrepreneurs at SASTRA TBI (ABLEST) was set up in 2020 with support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), part of the Department of Biotechnology. It works on therapeutics, diagnostics, MedTech devices and smart healthcare. ABLEST describes itself as a BioNEST, and offers bench space for research and development, mentorship, and access to business advisory and financial services. Incubatees can be resident in the facility or work remotely. The facilities include a BSL-2 cell culture area, a BSL-3 virology facility, next generation sequencing and molecular biology labs, and imaging equipment.

How the incubators work

Incubatees at both centres work inside the university campus, so they can draw on its faculty and students. ABLEST says it works with entrepreneurs at every stage, from idea to product,.

Who can apply

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme is available to startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and incorporated no more than two years before application. ABLEST takes these applications and passes them through the scheme's guidelines. Founders should email ABLEST to start the process.

Scale

FIRST reports that it has mentored 52 incubatees so far, and that two of them have graduated as successful start-ups. ABLEST reports that it currently supports 12 incubatees. The pages do not give a date for the FIRST figures.

Locations

Both incubators are on the SASTRA campus at Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur.