Why this list exists
Most founders in India know about SISFS and maybe one or two state grants. That's a fraction of what's actually available. The central government operates at least eight distinct grant programs through different ministries, DPIIT, DST, MSME Ministry, DBT, Niti Aayog, each with different eligibility criteria, sector focus, and application processes.
These programs don't always talk to each other and some explicitly allow stacking. A biotech founder in Kerala could theoretically access NIDHI Prayas (₹20L), BIRAC BIG (₹50L), and a KSUM state grant (₹15L), all for the same startup, at different stages, without dilution. That's ₹85L before you talk to a single investor.
The goal of this article is to map all eight schemes in enough detail that you can decide which ones are worth your application time.
1. SISFS, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (closed)
Status: Closed. The portal stopped taking new startup applications on 31 May 2026, and no new call has been announced.
Ministry: DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade)
Amount: Up to ₹20L grant + up to ₹50L as convertible debentures or debt
Stage: Proof of concept through early commercialization
Applied via: Approved incubators only, seedfund.startupindia.gov.in
Contact: sisfs.startup@gov.in
SISFS was the flagship central government seed grant. The ₹20L grant portion required no repayment. The second part, up to ₹50L for market entry, commercialisation or scale-up, came as convertible debentures, debt or debt-linked instruments, so it carried repayment or conversion terms. Each startup could take the grant and the debt support once each.
The critical detail: founders applied through an incubator, not directly to the government. The incubator received an allocation from DPIIT, reviewed startup applications, and disbursed from that allocation, so the incubator relationship mattered as much as the application. See our complete SISFS guide for how the process worked.
Eligibility checklist, as it stood when applications closed:
- DPIIT-recognised startup (mandatory, get this at startupindia.gov.in first)
- Incorporated less than 2 years ago at time of application
- Private limited company, LLP, or registered partnership, not sole proprietorship
- Have not previously received more than ₹10L from other central/state seed fund schemes
- Associated with an SISFS-approved incubator
2. NIDHI Prayas, DST
Ministry: DST (Department of Science and Technology)
Amount: Up to ₹20 lakhs at a PRAYAS Centre, ₹40 lakhs at an Advance PRAYAS Centre
Stage: Idea to prototype (pre-product)
Apply via: NIDHI partner institutions (IITs, IIMs, NITs, state mission programs)
Portal: nidhi.gov.in
Contact: dst-nidhi@nic.in
NIDHI Prayas (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators) targets the stage before SISFS, the idea-to-prototype gap. The grant is meant specifically for building your first working prototype of a physical product. Pure software, apps, e-commerce and services do not qualify. It's administered through NIDHI partner institutions, which include IIT incubators, IIM incubators, and state mission programs like KSUM (Kerala).
Prayas is specifically for pre-incorporation or very early incorporated startups. If you have a strong idea and a technical team but no prototype yet, Prayas is the right program. You don't need DPIIT recognition to start the process, though you'll likely need it before funds are disbursed.
Who it's best for: Science/technology-based ideas where the prototype requires meaningful R&D investment. Agri-tech, health-tech, deep-tech. Pure software plays where the "prototype" is just a web app are harder to fund through Prayas.
3. NIDHI EIR, Entrepreneur in Residence
Ministry: DST
Amount: ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 a month for up to 12 months, paid as a fellowship through a NIDHI-EIR centre
Stage: Pre-incorporation, you have an idea but haven't started the company yet
Apply via: NIDHI host institutions
Portal: nidhi.gov.in
Contact: dst-nidhi@nic.in
NIDHI EIR is the least-known but most founder-friendly scheme on this list. It pays you a monthly stipend of up to ₹30,000 for up to a year while you develop your startup idea, before incorporation, before you have a product, before you have any traction. That is ₹3.6 lakh at most. There is no separate starter grant, and the stipend stops once you raise outside funding.
The scheme recognizes a real problem: many talented potential founders can't afford to quit their jobs and explore an idea for a year without income. EIR solves that. You work from a NIDHI host institution (typically an IIT or IIM incubator), get access to their facilities, mentors, and networks, while drawing the stipend.
Eligibility: Must not have a running company. Prior work experience is valued. The host institution selects EIRs based on their own criteria, typically strong domain knowledge plus a credible idea.
Honest note: The ₹30K/month won't replace a senior tech salary in Bangalore or Mumbai. But if you're early in your career or willing to live lean while you validate, it's a meaningful bridge.
4. MSME Innovative, through the MSME Champions portal
Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Amount: Up to ₹15 lakh per idea under the incubation component, paid to the Host Institute
Stage: Idea to prototype, through an approved Host Institute
Apply via: An approved Host Institute only
Portal: innovative.msme.gov.in (scheme), champions.gov.in (Ministry portal)
MSME Champions is the Ministry's portal for grievances and scheme information, not a fund with its own grant. The money for startups sits in the schemes listed under it. The one that fits an early founder best is MSME Innovative, whose incubation component pays up to ₹15 lakh per idea to the approved Host Institute. The Ministry funds 85% of the approved cost and the incubatee 15%, and students pay nothing.
MSME status itself is worth having. Since 1 April 2025 a micro enterprise is one with up to ₹2.5 crore of investment and ₹10 crore of turnover, and a small enterprise up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore. The Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, still quoted in older guides, ran until 31 March 2020 and is not taking new applications.
Who should look at this: Founders building hardware, manufacturing, or deep-tech products who can get a place at a Host Institute. Our MSME schemes guide covers the rest of the Ministry's programmes.
5. Atal Innovation Mission, AIM, Niti Aayog
Administrator: Niti Aayog
Amount: Up to ₹10 crore over at most 5 years, paid to the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), not to startups. AIM publishes no seed grant amount for startups
Stage: Early-stage startups incubated at AICs
Portal: aim.gov.in / niti.gov.in
Contact: aim@niti.gov.in
AIM runs the Atal Incubation Centre network, set up at universities, research institutions and companies. AIM gives each AIC a grant-in-aid of up to ₹10 crore over a maximum of 5 years for its capital and operating costs. As a startup, you reach that money by getting incubated at an AIC.
AIM lists access to seed capital among what an AIC offers, but it publishes no amount, and each AIC sets its own. Ask the AIC directly what it gives, in what form, and on what terms. Many AICs were also SISFS-approved incubators. SISFS closed to new applications on 31 May 2026, so the AIC's own seed support is the one to ask about now.
Finding an AIC near you: aim.gov.in publishes the list of established AICs with their locations. Pick one whose sector focus matches what you are building.
6. BIRAC, for biotech startups
Administrator: BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council), under DBT
Flagship schemes: BIRAC BIG, BIRAC BIPP, BIRAC LEAP Fund
Portal: birac.nic.in
Contact: info@birac.nic.in
BIRAC runs India's most active grant programs specifically for biotech and life sciences startups. If you're building in genomics, diagnostics, medical devices, biopharma, agri-biotech, or related areas, BIRAC should be one of your first calls.
BIRAC BIG (Biotechnology Ignition Grant)
Amount: Up to ₹50 lakhs
Stage: Very early, idea to proof of concept in biotech
Equity: None, pure grant
BIG is BIRAC's flagship early-stage grant. ₹50L equity-free for biotech startups at the idea-to-PoC stage. The application requires a detailed scientific proposal, PI credentials, and IP strategy. Calls open on 1 January and 1 July. Highly competitive but the amounts are among the best in the central government portfolio.
BIRAC BIPP (Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme)
Amount: No ceiling published on the BIPP page. Support is on a cost-sharing basis; the ratio is in the scheme document
Stage: High-risk, transformational technology or process development by Indian industry
Note: Covers drugs, vaccines and clinical trials, biosimilars and stem cells, devices and diagnostics, agriculture, industrial biotech, and bioinformatics. IP stays with the Indian company and, where relevant, its collaborating scientists
BIRAC LEAP Fund
Amount: Equity investment, not a grant. No per-startup amount is published
Stage: Proof of concept to pilot stage
Apply via: One of six LEAP Fund partners: FITT (IIT Delhi), IKP Knowledge Park, C-CAMP, Venture Center, KIIT-TBI and SINE (IIT Bombay)
Honest note on BIRAC: The scientific rigor required in BIRAC applications is higher than most startup grants. You need a credible PI (Principal Investigator), a clear scientific hypothesis, and a realistic path to biotech product commercialization. Founders without life-sciences backgrounds will struggle with the applications. Find a BIRAC-experienced mentor before applying.
7. DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance
Administrators: DBT (Department of Biotechnology) + Wellcome Trust
Amount: Up to ₹2.25 crore (Early Career Fellowship) or ₹5 crore (Intermediate Fellowship), each over five years
Stage: Biomedical, clinical and public health research by individual researchers
Portal: indiaalliance.org
The India Alliance is a joint funding body between India's DBT and the UK's Wellcome Trust, focused on health and biomedical research. It funds researchers, not companies. The fellowship is paid through a Host Institution in India, and the host must be a not-for-profit (a trust, society or Section 8 company), so a startup cannot hold one itself.
Under the Phase III guidelines the Early Career Fellowship goes up to ₹2.25 crore over five years and the Intermediate Fellowship up to ₹5 crore. The application is research-grant style, not startup-pitch style. If your health startup grew out of original research, a founder or collaborator based at a research institute may be the right applicant, alongside a BIRAC application from the company.
8. Stand Up India
Ministry: Ministry of Finance, with SIDBI running the Stand-Up Mitra portal
Amount: Composite bank loan of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore, up to 85% of project cost
Stage: Greenfield (first-time) ventures led by SC/ST or women founders, aged 18 or over
Portal: standupmitra.in
Stand Up India is technically a loan scheme, not a grant, but with a capped interest rate and a lending target at every bank branch, it functions as accessible capital for founders who typically face the most friction in the Indian financial system: SC/ST entrepreneurs and women founders.
The scheme asks every branch of a scheduled commercial bank to lend to at least one SC or ST borrower and at least one woman borrower. The loan covers a first venture in manufacturing, services, agri-allied activity or trading. In a company or partnership, SC/ST or women founders must hold at least 51% and the controlling stake. The rate is the bank's lowest for your rating category, capped at its MCLR plus 3% plus a tenor premium. You bring at least 10% of the project cost yourself, and repayment runs up to seven years with a moratorium of up to 18 months.
Who this is for: If you are a woman founder or belong to SC/ST communities and are building a business that needs capital for setup, equipment, infrastructure, initial inventory, Stand Up India is a bank loan route built for you, and every branch is asked to make at least one.
How to stack these programs
These programs are not mutually exclusive. Here's an example stacking sequence for a health-tech startup:
- NIDHI EIR, ₹30K/month stipend while you develop the idea (pre-incorporation)
- NIDHI Prayas, up to ₹20L to build the first prototype (₹40L at an Advance PRAYAS Centre)
- BIRAC BIG, ₹50L to advance the core biotech science
- State grant (KSUM, TANSEED, Elevate), ₹10-50L for market acceleration
At the ceilings that is roughly ₹84 lakh to ₹1.2 crore in non-dilutive capital before you talk to an angel investor, and every figure is a maximum, not a typical award. It takes years, not months. Not fast, but the alternative is giving up equity for the same money.
Summary table
| Scheme | Ministry | Max Amount | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SISFS (closed) | DPIIT | ₹20L grant + ₹50L debentures or debt | Grant / debt | Closed to new applications on 31 May 2026 |
| NIDHI Prayas | DST | ₹20L (₹40L at an Advance Centre) | Grant | Tech/science, pre-prototype |
| NIDHI EIR | DST | Up to ₹3.6L (stipend) | Stipend | Pre-incorporation idea stage |
| MSME Innovative | MSME Ministry | ₹15L per idea, paid to the Host Institute | Grant via Host Institute | Hardware, manufacturing ideas |
| AIM-AIC | Niti Aayog | ₹10Cr to the AIC; startup amount set by each AIC | Support via AIC | Startups at AIM incubators |
| BIRAC BIG | DBT/BIRAC | ₹50L | Grant | Biotech, life sciences |
| DBT-Wellcome | DBT + Wellcome | ₹2.25Cr to ₹5Cr | Fellowship | Researchers at non-profit hosts |
| Stand Up India | Finance/SIDBI | ₹1Cr | Bank loan | SC/ST or women founders |
How to actually get started
The practical starting sequence for most founders:
- Get DPIIT recognition, startupindia.gov.in
- Identify the 2-3 schemes most relevant to your stage and sector
- Find the right incubator for the schemes that route through incubators (NIDHI Prayas, MeitY TIDE 2.0)
- Apply to the most accessible scheme first (NIDHI Prayas or your state grant) to build a track record
- Use that track record in the more competitive applications (BIRAC, Elevate)
The grant process in India rewards patience and persistence. Many funded founders were turned down before their first win. Each rejection is information, so ask the incubator or scheme administrator what was missing.
Common questions
Which government grant should an early-stage startup apply for first?
It depends on what you are building. SISFS, the usual first answer, stopped taking new applications on 31 May 2026. For a hardware or physical product, NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 funds a prototype with up to ₹20 lakh at a PRAYAS Centre and needs no DPIIT recognition. Biotech and health startups can apply to BIRAC BIG, up to ₹50 lakh, in calls that open on 1 January and 1 July. Software startups should look at MeitY TIDE 2.0 through a TIDE incubator, or their state's scheme.
Do central and state grants stack?
Often yes. You can hold a central grant like NIDHI PRAYAS or BIRAC BIG alongside a state grant from Kerala, Karnataka, or Tamil Nadu, as long as you meet each scheme's conditions.
Is DPIIT recognition needed for government grants?
For most of them, yes. It is the common prerequisite. Get it at startupindia.gov.in, with no government fee, before you apply.
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