Startup grants & funding schemes in India

PropelX 2.0 is a flagship startup support initiative by the Technology Business Incubator Foundation at IIT Ropar, aimed at nurturing visionary founders, researchers, and innovators working on cutting-edge technologies. The program is designed to help early-stage startups transform bold ideas into scalable and high-impact ventures by providing a structured incubation environment. Selected startups gain access to expert mentorship, advanced R&D laboratories, and strong technical infrastructure

The Bosch-BMU Innovation Challenge is a 16-week innovation and prototyping program aimed at fostering solutions for safe, inclusive, and sustainable mobility. The program seeks to identify and support startups, innovators, and researchers working on impactful and scalable mobility solutions that reduce environmental impact, enhance road safety, and improve accessibility. Key focus areas include connectivity, synthetic fuels and clean technologies, electrification, innovative brake systems

WE START is a structured 3-month pre-incubation program by Kerala Startup Mission designed exclusively for women-led startups and aspiring women entrepreneurs. The program focuses on supporting founders in converting innovative ideas into functional MVPs through structured learning, expert mentorship, and practical guidance. Participants gain access to workshops, industry insights, and resources covering the entire early-stage startup journey, from ideation to market readiness. The

V-FUND 6.0, Women 2026 is the sixth edition of the flagship accelerator and seed funding initiative by VELS Innovation Council (VIC), aimed at empowering early-stage women entrepreneurs. The program focuses on strengthening women-led startups by providing seed funding, structured incubation, and capacity-building support. It offers a platform for women founders to gain visibility, mentorship, and institutional backing to scale innovative and viable business ideas. Selected startups receive

Tamil Nadu Hardware Accelerator for Prototype and Product (TN-HAPP), branded as iAccelerate 4.0, is a 12-week intensive and structured hybrid accelerator programme designed to help hardware startups in Tamil Nadu move from concept stage to production-ready products. The program is implemented by Tamil Nadu Technology Hub (iTNT Hub) and focuses on providing government-subsidized access to professional design, prototyping, and manufacturing ecosystem support. Selected startups are onboarded

The Antler India AI Residency, 2nd Edition is a high-intensity, three-week residency program designed to help ambitious AI founders build and launch global companies from day zero. This residency is built for founders who want to move extremely fast, validate their AI startup idea, form strong founding teams, and secure pre-seed funding within weeks. The program culminates in a fast-tracked investment decision, offering selected startups an opportunity to raise Rs. 4 crore in exchange for

Titan Capital is actively partnering with early-stage founders building differentiated and high-conviction businesses. The firm focuses on backing startups at the pre-seed and seed stages with a long-term perspective rather than short-term hype cycles. Titan Capital follows a hands-on, founder-first approach by moving quickly on decisions and supporting portfolio companies with not just capital but also deep strategic insight. Founders benefit from access to an operator-led network of

The AI-Based Early Childhood Development (ECD) Innovation Challenge is a Government of Andhra Pradesh initiative led by the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub in collaboration with the Women Development & Child Welfare Department. The challenge focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence to strengthen Early Childhood Development outcomes during the critical first 2,000 days of a child's life. Innovators are invited to design AI-powered solutions for children aged 0, 6 years that enable early

The Avaana, Startup India Grand Challenge for Deep Tech Innovation 2025, 26 is a nationwide flagship initiative designed to identify and empower breakthrough deep-tech innovators building solutions for India's most critical strategic priorities. Now in its third edition, the Grand Challenge has emerged as one of India's leading platforms for frontier technology startups, backed by policymakers, industry leaders, academia, and capital providers. The program enables startups to accelerate

IIMK LIVE Seed Support Fund is a startup seed funding program sanctioned by the Department of Science and Technology under the NIDHI, Seed Support System scheme. The program is designed to support early-stage startups incubated at IIMK LIVE, a Technology Business Incubator hosted by IIM Kozhikode. The fund aims to bridge the gap between development and commercialization of innovative technologies, products, and services by providing timely financial support along with mentorship and ecosystem

This programme supports early-stage defence and deep-tech startups to accelerate their growth, provide critical seed funding, and enhance India's defence innovation ecosystem. It is implemented by the Technology Innovation and Development of Entrepreneurship Society (TIDES) at IIT Roorkee in collaboration with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The programme focuses on startups that are supported by iDEX and/or recognised by DPIIT and encourages ventures to leverage

The IITK FinTech Spark Program is a flagship initiative by the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, designed to help students transform FinTech ideas into real startups. The program focuses on nurturing early-stage FinTech innovations emerging from the IIT Kanpur campus and provides structured support from ideation to startup formation. Selected student teams receive funding support along with access to mentorship, laboratories, IP support, incubation facilities, and