Seed incubation fund (Technology Development Board and NSTEDB)
A programme by Trec Step (Tiruchirappalli Regional Engineering College – Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park)
Seed capital for innovative ventures based on TREC-STEP's premises, given either as equity or as a loan.
At a glance
| Best for | Innovative technology ventures already based on the TREC-STEP campus |
|---|---|
| Stage | Prototype – Early revenue |
| Format | In person |
| Cost | Takes equity |
| Grant support | For selected startups. A place in the programme does not by itself guarantee a grant. |
| Run with | Technology Development Board, Government of India, National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) |
About Seed incubation fund (Technology Development Board and NSTEDB)
TREC-STEP's second funding scheme is a seed incubation fund backed by the Technology Development Board and the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board. Its page is headed as a DST fund and attributes it in the body to those two boards. No intake or deadline is published and the page is undated, so confirm it is live before you count on it.
The design of the fund is what makes it useful: it deliberately covers the costs conventional lenders and venture investors will not touch.
What you get
- Seed capital, structured as equity or as a loan depending on what the venture needs.
- Funding for technology development, product development, training, marketing visits, marketing promotion, consultancy and software, including margin money for loans.
Who can apply
- Innovative ventures of young technocrats.
- Only ventures promoted on TREC-STEP premises — this is stated as a condition, so incubation comes first.
How selection works: not published. The page says the support goes to select industries and does not describe the criteria.
How to apply: no separate form exists. Apply for incubation first, then raise the fund with the Executive Director's office in Tiruchirappalli.
Where to apply
Other Trec Step programmes
- Incubation at TREC-STEPResidency-based incubation on TREC-STEP's Tiruchirappalli campus, bundled into five named support packages.
- DSIR Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) innovation fundAn innovation fund that takes an individual innovator's idea to a working prototype; TREC-STEP says the programme is being renewed by DSIR, so it is not open.
- BEACON IndiaAn announced climate innovation incubation programme approved by the Green Climate Fund board in October 2025; it has no application route on the site yet.
- The BIG Idea ChallengeA business-model contest for students and young professionals run with Young Indians (CII); closed, with its last stated entry deadline at the end of December 2017.