NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators

Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India has launched the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators. The program caters to idea-stage entrepreneurs with a physical product offering, who require support/ funding for prototyping. It would also facilitate the women innovators with the Physical infrastructure, Technical Guidance; Business Mentorship, etc. The current article briefs the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators in detail.

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NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) is an umbrella program conceived and developed by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful start-ups.

Under this initiative, DST has launched NIDHI – Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring innovators & Startups (NIDHI-PRAYAS) program.

The Objective of NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

The objective of the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program is to support Women-led Innovators by providing prototyping grants upto Rs. 10.00 Lakhs and help with world-class Lab facilities at Banasthali for the development of Proof of Concept/Minimum Viable Product or a Ready Product.

Focus of the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

The focus of the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program is to address the idea to prototype funding gaps:

To enable the translation of an innovative idea to a prototype
To provide a platform for faster experimentation and modify approaches in the idea to market journey
To generate innovative solutions relevant to the local and global problems
To attract a large number of youths who demonstrate problem-solving zeal and abilities to work on their new technology/ knowledge/ innovation-based startups
To enhance the pipeline in terms of quality and quantity of innovative start-ups to the incubators
To build a vibrant innovation ecosystem, by establishing a network between innovators, academia, mentors, and incubators

Eligible Startup for NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

The following type of startups can apply for the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program:

Ideation Stage Startup
Incubator
Individual

Eligibility Criteria for NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

The eligibility criteria for startups to participate in the NIDHI-PRAYAS Program are as follows:

An individual innovator without having a startup or founder of a startup can apply for a Prayas grant.
PRAYAS grant is a Proof-of-concept grant for converting ideas and innovations into a prototype. Proposals for the products having crossed the prototype level are not eligible for support under NIDHI-PRAYAS.
The ideas and innovations should be based on technology and science.
The product prototype has to be a physical product.
Applicants can be individual innovators or early-stage startups.
Applicants will have ownership of the Project know-how or IP of the proposed products or the right to use know-how or IP if it is owned by a third party.
The prototype must be capable of being completed within 18 months.
Innovators should have technical skills or backgrounds.
Idea or Innovations should have a roadmap towards commercialization.
The priority technology areas are manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, clean-tech, energy, water, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Other technology areas.

In case of an applicant being an individual innovator without having a startup applying for PRAYAS:

The applicant has to be an Indian Citizen with government-approved proof of nationality such as a valid passport, voter’s id, etc.
The applicant should be a minimum of 18 years of age, as on the date of application.
If the applicant works in a team with other innovators there has to be an agreement among the team about the lead innovator who would apply, and the funds will be transferred to the lead innovator’s account (after selection). IP generated would vest with the innovator or with the team as per the agreement and it would be further taken for commercialization.

In case of an applicant being a co-founder of a Startup applying for PRAYAS:

The applicant has to be an Indian citizen with government-approved proof of nationality such as a valid passport, voter’s id, etc.
The applicant should be a minimum of 18 years of age, as on the date of application.
The startup should be incorporated in India with a minimum of 51% of its equity held by Indian citizens. The startup should not be more than 7 years of existence.
The startup wants to develop the prototype for a new product, for which they have not received support from any other funding agency.
The startup should not have an annual turnover exceeding Rs. 25 lakhs for any of the financial years since its inception.
IP generated would vest with the start-up.

Benefits offered to Startups

Being a government-backed Incubator, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), offers all possible institutional support for start-ups incubated with them

This incubator program offers access to the world-class labs (across all streams) at Banasthali
Access to the huge industry network for collaboration and prototype testing will also be provided
Access to Business Acceleration training and workshops
Access to tech support services like ZOHO, AWS, Razorpay will also provide
Co-Working Space and Deep dive sessions to work on business strategies

Financial Support

The selected women entrepreneur can avail grant–in–aid Upto Rs.10 lakhs for prototype development under NIDHI-PRAYAS Program

Relevant Industry

NIDHI-PRAYAS Incubation Program is looking to collaborate and work with startups in any of the following themes:

Agriculture
AI
Green Technology
Education
Healthcare & Lifesciences
Internet Of Things
Biotechnology
Waste Management

Service Type

The relevant service type for NIDHI-PRAYAS Incubation Program for Startup 2021 is as follows:

Location-Based Services
Manufacturing
Engineering

TimeLine of NIDHI-PRAYAS Incubation Program

Application Opens	1^st December 2021
Deadline to Apply	12^th December 2021
Application Result Date	31^st December 2021

Application Procedure

The Application Procedure for NIDHI-PRAYAS Incubation Program is explained in detail below:

The startups need to access the official website of the AIC Banasthali – NIDHI-PRAYAS Incubation Program.

NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators - Homepage — NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators – Homepage

From the homepage click on the funding support option and then select the DST Nidhi Prayas option.

NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators - Apply — NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators – Apply

By clicking on the apply now option, the link will redirect to the NIDHI PRAYAS Application form page.

NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators - Applicatiin — NIDHI-PRAYAS Program for Women Innovators – Application

After providing all the mandatory details, click on the submit option. Shortlisted eligible women entrepreneurs will be called for a “Pitch Session” to pitch about the startups. Final results will be announced on 31^st December 2021.