Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

NGIS is the incubation scheme MeitY entrusted to STPI to implement. It runs from twelve STPI centres in Tier-II cities: Agartala, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Mohali, Patna and Vijayawada. You do not apply to it directly; you get in by entering a CHUNAUTI challenge when a call is open. STPI describes the scheme as taking a startup from idea to prototype, prototype to a minimum viable product, and on to going to market.

What you get

• Ready-to-work plug-and-play space, with five to ten seats per startup, high-speed internet and round-the-clock security
• A dedicated product testing facility and access to the software product security testing setup
• Technical and business mentoring, workshops, seminars and trainings, plus need-based sessions on legal, compliance, branding and cyber security
• Continuous monitoring and periodic review by a dedicated manager
• Seed support for selected startups, and a monthly stipend for teams taken on the pre-incubation route
• Cloud credits from third-party providers
• Patent drafting and filing, trademark and copyright support through STPI's arrangement with NRDC
• Access to investors and go-to-market support at national and international events

Who can apply

• Indian startups working in software product development, including embedded electronics
• Registered or incorporated within the last ten years as on the date the challenge opens
• Annual turnover within the DPIIT ceiling for every financial year since incorporation
• Not formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business
• Working on innovation or improvement of a product, process or service, or on a scalable business model with high potential for employment or wealth creation
• DPIIT-recognised startups are encouraged. Individual academicians, researchers, educators and entrepreneurs, partnership firms and LLPs may also apply, but must register as a private limited company within a stipulated time, preferably three months, if selected

How selection works: through an All India Start-up Challenge or hackathon under the CHUNAUTI banner, run per location.

How to apply: watch the NGIS portal for an open CHUNAUTI call and apply on that challenge's page. Questions go to STPI's Startup-PMU inbox, startup.pmu@stpi.in. Startups pay designated charges for NGIS services, have to operate from a designated STPI incubation facility, and may have to offer equity to STPI as decided by the designated authority.

CHUNAUTI is the challenge STPI runs to pick the startups it incubates under NGIS. Ten editions have been listed. The most recent, CHUNAUTI 10, ran as the second edition of LEAP AHEAD, closed on 15 January 2025 and has published its result, so the programme is between intakes at the moment. Individual editions have carried themes: the third was on advancing digital applications with a focus on accessibility, and the second was themed on women entrepreneurs.

What you get

• Entry into NGIS, with its incubation space, mentoring, seed support and lab access

Who can apply

• The NGIS criteria apply: an Indian startup in software product development, incorporated within the last ten years, within the DPIIT turnover ceiling, and not formed by splitting an existing business
• Individuals, partnership firms and LLPs may enter, but have to incorporate as a private limited company if selected

How selection works: proposals are invited against a published challenge. Some editions have been run as a set of location-specific challenges instead of one national call — the fourth edition ran as eleven separate challenges at Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Noida, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram.

How to apply: through the challenge page for the open edition on the NGIS portal.

LEAP AHEAD — Launchpad for Tech Entrepreneurs towards Accelerated growth and Pioneering AHEAD — is STPI's growth-stage track, run with TiE Delhi-NCR and a panel of investors. It is a three-month intensive mentorship in hybrid mode, mixing virtual and in-person sessions. Applications for the second edition ran from 15 October 2024 to 15 January 2025 and the result has been published, so it is between intakes. The first edition ran as CHUNAUTI 6.0.

What you get

• Three months of intensive mentorship, part online and part in person
• One-to-one mentorship with investors and industry experts
• Funding after grooming and handholding by the investor panel
• Networking and exposure to global markets
• Incubation at STPI centres around the country
• Cloud credits and other third-party benefits

Who can apply

• Indian startups in software product development, structured as a private limited company
• In the scaling or growth stage, or planning expansion into new geographies or product diversification
• With a stated minimum revenue and at least one year of audited accounts or a filed ITR
• Having raised a stated minimum from outside investors — this does not apply to bootstrapped startups
• At least 51% shareholding with an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin, and not a subsidiary of a foreign corporation
• DPIIT-recognised startups are encouraged, and startups showing traction, preferably between seed and Series A, with a scalable product and a significant addressable market, are preferred

How selection works: applicants pitch. The second edition held in-person pitching at Guwahati, Bhopal and Jaipur, with online pitching for the remaining applicants.

How to apply: through the Apply Now link on the LEAP AHEAD page while a window is open.

A Centre of Entrepreneurship is a domain-specific incubation facility for startups in one emerging technology area, where STPI brings together infrastructure, labs, mentoring, training, research, funding and networking for that domain. The Government of India announced the setting up of CoEs by STPI in specific domains across the country, and they cover areas including IoT, blockchain, fintech, AI, AR/VR, ESDM, data science and analytics, medical electronics and healthcare, gaming and animation, machine learning and cyber security. STPI's own pages give three different counts of how many CoEs have launched, so we do not state a number.

Each CoE is built as a collaboration between government — MeitY, STPI and a state government — industry domain, technology and knowledge partners, academic and mentoring partners, and investors.

What you get

• Incubation space at the CoE, with access to its labs and equipment
• Mentoring across the product development lifecycle, from academia and industry
• Funding routes and an interface with angel investors and venture funds
• IPR facilitation, industry connect, networking and marketing support
• Access to the wider STPI lab network

Who can apply

• Technology startups working in that CoE's domain. Each centre sets its own criteria in its own call, so there is no single network-level eligibility list

How selection works: STPI describes a lifecycle — awareness about the CoE, acceptance of proposals, selection against pre-defined criteria, mentorship from academia and industry, evaluation of the proof of concept, product development, then market connect and introductions to angel investors and venture funds.

How to apply: through the individual CoE's own open challenge programme or call for proposals. These are published on SAYUJ, so register there and watch the centre you are interested in.

The STP Scheme is a 100% export-oriented scheme for developing and exporting computer software, including professional services exported over communication links or on physical media. It is a unit registration rather than a cohort, and it is open all year. STPI administers it as the implementing body under MeitY.

What you get

• Approvals under a single-window clearance system
• A unit may be set up anywhere in India
• Duty-free import of hardware and software, including second-hand capital goods, and re-export of capital goods is permitted
• Simplified minimum export performance norms, stated as positive net foreign exchange earnings
• Sales into the domestic tariff area are permissible
• GST refund on capital goods bought domestically
• 100% foreign equity permitted, with free repatriation of capital, know-how fees, royalty and dividend after taxes
• 100% depreciation on computers and peripherals over five years

Who can apply

• Companies exporting computer software or IT-enabled professional services

How selection works: projects are approved under the single-window clearance system, with jurisdictional STPI authorities clearing smaller Indian-investment projects themselves.

How to apply: through the online registration link on STPI's statutory services page, with your jurisdictional directorate. SOFTEX submissions have their own online link on the same page.

The EHTP Scheme is a 100% export-oriented scheme for developing and exporting electronics hardware. Like the STP scheme it is a unit registration administered by STPI under MeitY, and it is open on a rolling basis.

What you get

• Permission to manufacture electronic hardware for export, and to manufacture hardware and software together in an integrated way for export
• Permission to run research, maintenance, testing and calibration services for export-bound electronics products
• Duty-free import of all goods including capital goods, as defined in the Export Import policy
• Import of goods free of cost or on loan from clients, and duty-free procurement from bonded warehouses
• Simplified minimum export performance norms, stated as positive net foreign exchange earnings

Who can apply

• Companies manufacturing electronics hardware for export

How to apply: through the online registration link on STPI's statutory services page.

SAYUJ is STPI's networking and resource-discovery platform for the startup community, available on the web and as an Android and iOS app. For a founder its most practical use is that incubators, industry bodies and STPI's Centres of Entrepreneurship use it to publish problem statements, contests and hackathons, invite and screen applications and publish results — so it is where most CoE calls appear.

What you get

• A repository of state and central government policies and schemes, incubators, co-working spaces and labs
• The ability to showcase what you offer, post, message and build a network
• A Product Expo to show your product, and a Hiring Hub
• Visibility of open contests and challenges from STPI centres and other agencies

Who can apply

• Startups, mentors, investors, incubators and aspiring entrepreneurs. No eligibility criteria are stated

How to apply: register on the SAYUJ website or the mobile app.