Telangana State Innovation Cell

Check the fit first

• TSIC supports innovators in Telangana. Social, rural and grassroots work fits best.
• It is a government office, not an equity investor. No programme page mentions equity.
• Most pages describe past editions between 2018 and 2022. Confirm that something is open before you spend time on an application.

How to reach it

• Write to cinno@telangana.gov.in or call +91 91006 78543 and ask which programmes are open now.
• Individual programmes had their own forms when they were open, such as the Social Impact Bootcamp and i2E Lab. Look for the application link on the programme page.
• For TSIRI Incentives, ask the cell for the current application and terms. The application page on the site shows no readable text.

What past programmes asked for

• Social Impact Bootcamp: a startup addressing a social challenge with a sustainable model, at least one founder working full-time or ready to, a minimum viable product, and a link to at least one Sustainable Development Goal. Base in Telangana or plans to set up or expand there.
• Impact Labs: a for-profit or section 8 social enterprise that can work on an NGO's problem statement.
• i2E Lab: an early stage idea with or without a prototype, and a revenue model or the will to build one. Applicants shared a pitch deck with the form.
• Government Mentor Program: a startup whose product could help government work.

Before you apply

• Know which Sustainable Development Goal your work serves.
• Prepare a short pitch deck.
• Be ready to pitch to government departments, since several programmes end with a government connect or demo day.

Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) is the Government of Telangana's innovation office, set up in 2017 under the State Innovation Policy and run by the Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department. It describes itself as the first response of the state government for innovators, startups, entrepreneurs and innovation catalysts. It works from the 3rd floor of T-Hub 2.0 in Madhapur, Hyderabad.

TSIC is not a classic incubator with a cohort every year. It is a state programme office, and its work falls into three mandates: building a culture of innovation from school age, spreading and nurturing innovation inside government and administration, and fostering innovation across the state. Most of its programmes aim at grassroots and rural innovators, students and social startups, and most are tied to Telangana.

What it offers startups

Its Startup Support section lists the Startup Telangana Yatra, an innovation yatra, SaaSt, the Government Mentor Program, Impact Labs, the Social Impact Bootcamp and an Assistive Technology Summit. These run as separate programmes and events, not a single application.

Telangana State Innovations with Rural Impact (TSIRI) Incentives are grants for grassroots innovators and startups, in three types: Prototype, Seed and Pilot. The home page says 6 startups and 12 innovators have received them. The application page on the site shows no readable text, so ask the cell for current terms before you plan around it.

Impact Labs pairs social startups with NGOs. The NGOs publish problem statements, and startups that are registered as for-profit or section 8 social enterprises work with them to pilot and test solutions. Partner NGOs listed include Greenpeace, Plan India, World Vision India, Save the Children and ActionAid India.

The Social Impact Bootcamp is a mentoring programme for social startups that want to set up a base or expand in Telangana. The 2020 edition ran for 4 weeks and ended in a demo day. The 2022 edition was virtual, with four sessions on theory of change, customer discovery, social impact strategy, and scaling and funding, plus investor and government connects. The founders needed a minimum viable product and an alignment with at least one Sustainable Development Goal.

i2E Lab, run with Make Room India, is a 14 weeks pre-incubation programme for youth with early stage ideas, with or without a prototype. Tier 2 and Tier 3 city applicants are encouraged. The first cohort ended in March 2021 with 8 startups.

The Government Mentor Program matched startups with government officials for three months so that their products could solve governance problems. Its first cohort had 10 startups, picked from over 200 applications, with 50K Ventures as programme partner.

Who it is for

Mostly Telangana-based or Telangana-bound innovators, social startups, rural and grassroots inventors, and students. Sector agnostic calls exist, such as i2E Lab, but the strongest fit is social impact, agritech, education, assistive technology and rural livelihoods. The programmes need a revenue model or a sustainable model: purely not-for-profit ideas were not a match for i2E Lab.

Scale

On its own pages, TSIC reports that more than 10000 students are being up-skilled in design thinking and social innovation under its Youth for Social Impact programme. The site also reports numbers on school students, teachers, rural innovators and district officials reached, but its counters show only zeros without scripts, so they are not repeated here.

How current is it

Most programme pages describe editions between 2018 and 2022, and the footer says 2021. Some pages say details are coming soon, including the Grassroot Innovation Fund and Access to Services. Treat every programme as past or between intakes until the cell confirms an open one.

Who runs it and where

The cell sits inside the ITE&C Department. The site names Meraj Faheem as Interim CEO. Contact is the cinno@telangana.gov.in inbox and +91 91006 78543. The address is 3rd Floor, T-Hub 2.0, 20, Inorbit Mall Rd, Vittal Rao Nagar, Madhapur, Telangana 500081.