Bilateral international joint calls (DST/TDB country programme)
A programme by Technology Development Board (TDB) (Technology Development Board)
A standing route of joint calls with partner countries' innovation agencies, each opening and closing on its own dates; all are closed except the India-Finland call.
At a glance
| Best for | Indian companies with a partner company in the counterpart country, applying to a live joint call |
|---|---|
| Stage | MVP – Growth |
| Cost | Free, no equity |
| Grant support | For selected startups. A place in the programme does not by itself guarantee a grant. |
About Bilateral international joint calls (DST/TDB country programme)
Alongside its domestic funding, TDB runs joint calls with counterpart agencies abroad through its international cooperation division. An Indian company teams up with a company in the partner country, each side applies to its own agency, and only proposals approved in both countries get funded. Past and recent partners include Business Finland, the Israel Innovation Authority through the India-Israel fund, Vinnova in Sweden, the National Research Council Canada with Global Affairs Canada, Innovate UK, and agencies in Spain and Singapore.
The instrument on this route is not the soft loan. TDB describes international assistance as a grant, reimbursed for costs already incurred, or a conditional grant, which is repaid out of a small royalty on income from the product developed in the joint project until it is repaid in full.
What projects qualify: full-scale research and development work aimed at co-developing a new product, process or technology, or validating an innovative one, with a real technological contribution from each partner, a clear advantage from working together, and a balanced split of effort, with no single partner or country carrying more than sixty per cent of it.
Status: at the time of checking, the India-Finland Joint Innovation Call 2026 was the only one open. The India-Israel general and strategic calls closed in June 2026, the India-Sweden call in December 2025, the India-Canada call in October 2025, the India-Spain call in June 2025, the India-Singapore call in February 2025 and the India-UK call in February 2025. Watch TDB's international pages for the next announcement rather than applying against a closed one.
How to apply: each call publishes its own joint application form, deadline and attachments. The Indian side submits through the TDB website.
Where to apply
Other TDB programmes
- TDB Core FundingTDB's standing, all-year route: project financing for an Indian company commercialising an indigenous technology, given mainly as a soft loan.
- Funding through the Research, Development and Innovation Fund (TDB as Second Level Fund Manager)A newer national route where TDB lends to companies and startups building strategic technologies; the scheme states it does not give grants.
- India-Finland Joint Innovation Call 2026An open joint call where an Indian company and a Finnish partner apply together; the Indian side is funded by grant on a reimbursement basis.
- Call for proposal: Empowering Tech Startups Ready for CommercializationA dedicated startup call that closed in April 2025; it is worth knowing because it set out exactly what TDB wants from a startup applicant.
- Sector calls for proposalsPeriodic calls aimed at one named sector at a time, run on TDB's standard funding terms; every one listed on its site has closed.