Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) Scheme

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India launched the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) program. Under this scheme, Government provides fellowship/ grant for an aspiring entrepreneur to promote tech entrepreneurship through financial and technical support in seven pre-identified areas of societal relevance. The present article briefs the TIDE-2.0 scheme in detail.

The objective of the TIDE-2.0 scheme

The Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) aim to strengthen 2000 Technology Startups, leveraging ICT-enabled technologies, in selected areas of national concern.

Benefits of the TIDE-2.0 scheme

The salient features of the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) scheme are listed as follows:

TIDE-2.0 scheme is fostering and evangelizing a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem that inspires budding entrepreneurs as well as support existing ones
This scheme will create entrepreneurship models of both financial as well as social value.
The scheme also Provides holistic incubation support including co-working space, mentoring, and networking for startups.
Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) provide financial support to 51 incubators and close to 2000 tech startups pan India.
The financial support for startups will be provided Facilitate Intellectual property Rights filings

Focus Area

The idea of the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) Scheme was to facilitate emerging startups to come up with innovative technological solutions for societal issues in financial technology, healthcare, education, agriculture, environment, and clean energy, clean energy solutions, and other emerging tech areas.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criterion for applying the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE-2.0) scheme is as follows:

Any Individual/Startup/Student who has potential & innovative business ideas at TRL 3 can apply for the program
As mentioned above, Technology-based startups using emerging technologies like IoT, AI/ML, Block Chain, Robotics, etc for below mentioned thematic areas are eligible for the scheme:
- Healthcare
- Education
- Agriculture
- Financial inclusion including digital payments
- Environment and cleantech
- Clean energy solutions

Note on MeitY Startup Hub and TIDE

To link startups, innovators, experts, technology companies, and investors through a single chain, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the MeitY Startup Hub sometime back. Under the program, the ministry provides support to incubation centers under TIDE, financial support to MSMEs and Technology Startup units for international patent filing, and conducting technology challenges. The MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) gives facilities such as testing, research, connecting angel investors to startups, and industry support.

TIDE Incubation Centers

TIDE incubation centers are a link between the administration and a common man or an organization that has an innovative idea to either start a business or expand its existing tech firm.

The TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers

The TIDE 2.0 incubation centers are institutions of higher learning and R&D organizations having incubation facilities and established linkages with large companies, industry bodies, and industry clusters so that they can nurture a small idea or a startup into a large corporate organization. The TIDE 2.0 centers are divided into three groups.

Group 1 centers

The Group 1 centers offer deep support to startups including mentoring, capacity building, and industry linkages for furthering investment avenues, and also support Group 3 centers. There are six centers in Group 1; all are located in academic institutions namely, IIM Ahmedabad, IIIT Hyderabad, IIM Calcutta, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Bombay.

Group 2 centers

The Group 2 centers facilitate aspiring entrepreneurs and students to build high-quality startups and also nurture and handhold G 3 centers. These centers are spread out across private and smaller government academic institutions and universities across India. Some of the incubation centers are KIIT Technology Business Incubator, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Vellore Institute of Technology - Technology Business Incubator (VITTBI), and AIC - Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, Pune.

Group 3 Centers

Group 3 Centers (G3C) will initiate and evangelize innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in unexplored regions. These will typically be incubators that are recently established in academic institutes Group 3 Centers will initiate and evangelize entrepreneurship and innovation activity in regions with absent/ dormant ecosystems. It is proposed that 20 such incubators be selected as G3Cs.

Application Procedure

Every incubator has a certain number of seats. A person can apply for the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program as mentioned on the websites of various The TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about TIDE 2.0 Scheme Technology Incubation for Entrepreneurs.

The TIDE-2.0 (Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs) scheme aims to strengthen 2000 technology startups leveraging ICT-enabled technologies in areas of national concern like healthcare, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, environment, clean energy, and other emerging technologies. It provides financial and technical support to aspiring entrepreneurs and startups.

The TIDE-2.0 scheme fosters a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem, creates entrepreneurship models of financial and social value, provides holistic incubation support (co-working space, mentoring, networking), facilitates intellectual property rights filings, and provides financial support to 51 incubators and close to 2000 tech startups across India.

Any individual, startup, or student with potential and innovative business ideas at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 can apply for the TIDE-2.0 scheme. Technology-based startups using emerging technologies like IoT, AI/ML, Blockchain, Robotics, etc., in the focus areas are eligible.

The focus areas of the TIDE-2.0 scheme include financial technology, healthcare, education, agriculture, environment, clean energy solutions, and other emerging tech areas.

The MeitY Startup Hub is an initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to link startups, innovators, experts, technology companies, and investors through a single chain. It provides support to incubation centers under TIDE, financial support for international patent filing, and conducts technology challenges.

The TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers are divided into three groups: Group 1 centers offer deep support and mentor Group 3 centers, Group 2 centers facilitate aspiring entrepreneurs and students, and Group 3 centers initiate and evangelize innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in unexplored regions.

Group 1 TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers, located in academic institutions like IIMs and IITs, offer deep support to startups, including mentoring, capacity building, industry linkages for investment avenues, and support for Group 3 centers.

Every incubator under the TIDE-2.0 scheme has a certain number of seats. An individual can apply for the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program as mentioned on the websites of various TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers.

The TIDE-2.0 scheme facilitates intellectual property rights filings for startups, which is crucial for protecting their innovative ideas and technologies.

Group 3 TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centers initiate and evangelize innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in regions with absent or dormant ecosystems, promoting the growth of startups in underserved areas.