NIDHI Program

About NIDHI Programme: 

• The National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing innovations (NIDHI) program was launched in 2016.
• It is an umbrella programme conceived and developed by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship division, Department of Science & Technology.
• Aim: To nurture start-ups through scouting, supporting and scaling innovations.
• Key stakeholders: Various departments and ministries of the central government, state governments, academic and R & D institutions, mentors, financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists and private sectors.
• Funding: It is funded by the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB).
• Key Components of the Program
  • The NIDHI- PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups) program at Proof-of-Concept level provides mentoring and financial support to innovator for converting their ideas into prototypes.
  • NIDHI Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR) Program provides fellowships to the students opting for entrepreneurship.
  • The NIDHI Seed Support Program provisions availability of early-stage seed support funding to startups and the NIDHI Accelerator program speeds up the investment readiness of the startups.
  • The NIDHI program has been helpful in creating state-of-the art infrastructure for incubating startups in technology sectors through Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) and Centres of Excellence (CoE).
  • NIDHI Accelerator: An accelerator is typically a 3-6 months fast track structured program helping ideas get accelerated to the next orbit.

What are i-Technology Business Incubators (i-TBIs)?

• i-TBIs (Inclusive TBI) is a three years duration initiative Supported by DST for educational institutions who are likely to foster innovation and entrepreneurship culture among the students, faculties, entrepreneurs, and nearby communities.

Q1: What is Startup India Initiative?

It is a flagship initiative of the Government of India intended to catalyse start-up culture with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs, building a robust startup ecosystem and transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers.

Source: Women-led StartUps to place India in global arena, says Jitendra Singh

‹ ›