Startup grants & funding schemes in India

The Artificial Intelligence and Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship (AIIDE) Centre of Excellence (CoE) is an initiative under the 'Start in UP' scheme by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. It is managed by the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with FICCI. The program supports startups working in: * AI/ML * ICT * IoT * Cybersecurity * Related fields The CoE aims to transform innovative ideas into impactful ventures by providing world-class mentorship

The Ignition Grant is offered by APIIC i-TBI, a DST's NIDHI i-TBI, to support startups and innovators in raising their **Technology Readiness Level (TRL)** and securing further funding. The program offers comprehensive support including: * **Co-working space** * **Mentorship and Training** * **Access to infrastructure** * **Financial grant support** through a selection/screening process. APIIC i-TBI will also assist in securing funding from other external sources. The grant focuses on

This call is part of the MeitY TIDE 2.0 program, aimed at strengthening the technology startup ecosystem. The **Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EiR)** program provides financial support to individuals or early-stage teams to develop and validate their ideas and achieve a Proof-of-Concept (PoC). ### Program Focus The program specifically targets startups and entrepreneurs leveraging emerging **Information and Communication Technology (ICT)**, including: * IoT * AI * Blockchain * Robotics The

The FutureSecure AI Innovation Program (FSAI) at IIT Kanpur, supported by the Shibodhi Foundation, empowers student innovators in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity (CS), and interdisciplinary fields that integrate AI and CS to transform their ideas into impactful startups. The program is designed to bridge the gap between research and real-world application through structured mentorship, funding, and industry immersion. **Focus Areas:** * AI Applications * CS Applications *

The Innovation Voucher Program (IVP) is a flagship grant scheme by the Government of Tamil Nadu, implemented through the Entrepreneurship Development & Innovation Institute , Tamil Nadu (EDII TN). * **Primary Goal:** To promote research collaboration between Startups and MSMEs. * **Grant Structure:** The program offers two distinct vouchers: * **Voucher-A (Entry into Research):** Provides a grant of **Rs. 3 Lakh**. * **Voucher-B (Entry into Market):** Provides a grant of **Rs. 7 Lakh**. * The

The HIM Startup Yojana 2025 is a seed fund initiative by HPCED, implemented through IIT Mandi Catalyst. It is a state-backed program designed to help budding innovators and startups from Himachal Pradesh to develop their initial ideas into viable products or services and successfully launch them into the market. It aims to strengthen the innovation ecosystem by offering financial support to early-stage ventures. The initiative focuses on supporting entrepreneurs to develop prototypes or scale

The Bosch Innovation Challenge, in collaboration with iTNT Hub and Bosch Global Software Technologies, seeks to identify and support breakthrough ideas for building a "Foundational Security Strategy for IoT Products". The challenge focuses on embedding security-by-design into IoT product development to help startups and MSMEs create secure, compliant, and resilient IoT solutions across the entire product lifecycle, from design to deployment. The initiative encourages innovators to create a

The **IIITD-IC FinTech Grand Challenge** is a national initiative launched by the IIIT Delhi Innovation & Incubation Center in partnership with Startup India and Decentro. Its core objective is to identify and support promising FinTech startups that are developing innovation-driven and scalable solutions to address critical issues in the financial sector. The challenge focuses on solving specific problem statements within FinTech, including: * **Seamless KYC & Digital Onboarding** *

The AI & AgriTech Innovation Center, launched under the Maha Agri-AI Policy 2025, 2029 by the Government of Maharashtra, aims to integrate Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, and frontier digital technologies across the agricultural value chain. Track 1, 'Discovery & Ideation', is designed to accelerate innovation at the earliest stages by supporting novel ideas and prototypes leveraging AI and data technologies to solve key agricultural challenges. This track encourages out-of-the-box

imaginATe is a flagship 9-month fellowship (with 6-month post-fellowship support) designed for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities to build, grow, and scale their ventures. **Key Offerings:** * A monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000. * Personalised mentorship from leaders across business and impact sectors. * Access to expert-led learning on key areas like finance, strategy, market access, branding, business planning, and product development. * Access to Assistive Technologies and productivity tools, and

The **Tamil Nadu LangTech Startup Fund** is a state-driven initiative launched by **StartupTN** in collaboration with **Tamil Virtual Academy (Tamil Virtual University)** to support startups building **Tamil language technology solutions**. The fund focuses on promoting **AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Machine Learning** innovations rooted in the Tamil language. With a total fund corpus of **Rs. 2.5 Crore**, the program aims to accelerate the development of globally relevant

The Business Accelerator Program , Cohort 2 is a six-month capacity-building accelerator designed exclusively for SC, ST entrepreneurs. The program is organized by AIC-InFED at IIM Nagpur in collaboration with the National SC ST Hub and is supported under the World Bank, backed RAMP Project of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India. The accelerator aims to strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities and enable sustainable business growth through a structured mix