NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0: Prototype Grants for Indian Innovators and Startups

NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0: Prototype Grants for Indian Innovators and Startups

This page is a historical reference for the latest published NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 call status. The official NIDHI PRAYAS site published a 2026 application window from 19 May 2026 at 10:00 am IST to 30 June 2026 at 6:00 pm IST, but that call was for incubators applying to become PRAYAS Centres or Advance PRAYAS Centres. It was not an application window for students, individual innovators, or startups seeking prototype funding. No later public deadline for an individual innovator or startup application is announced on the official NIDHI PRAYAS or Department of Science and Technology pages reviewed for this update. The 2026-06-30 deadline in the page metadata is therefore the real closing date of the published 2.0 call, not a claim that a student application could be submitted on that date.

The programme itself has not been presented as discontinued. NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 is the current framework described in the Department of Science and Technology’s March 2026 guidelines. Applicants should treat this entry as an archive until a PRAYAS Centre or Advance PRAYAS Centre publishes an active innovator call. Do not assume that the closed incubator portal accepts startup applications: the official portal specifically says its current application is for incubators and is not for startups.

At a glance

What NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 funds

PRAYAS is designed for the difficult middle stage between a technical idea and a product that can be tested. It is not a general scholarship, a research-student stipend, or unrestricted startup working capital. The applicant must propose a physical product grounded in science or technology and show how the grant will move that product through design, fabrication, testing, and early validation.

The 2.0 framework has two centre levels. A PRAYAS Centre supports technology-based innovations and may award up to ₹20 lakh to one innovator or startup. An Advance PRAYAS Centre is intended for deep-tech, highly scalable, or quickly deployable advanced prototypes and may award up to ₹40 lakh. The amount is not automatic. The PRAYAS Local Monitoring Committee at the relevant centre decides the approved amount after evaluating the proposal, the centre’s capacity, the work plan, and the expected outcomes.

The total PRAYAS 2.0 support for an innovation cannot exceed ₹40 lakh when earlier PRAYAS 1.0 support is included. Someone who has already received PRAYAS 1.0 support is restricted to the APC route under the new rules and must have an appropriate deep-tech or advanced-prototype proposal. An applicant who has not received PRAYAS 1.0 or 2.0 support may be eligible for either a PC or an APC, but the two routes are sequenced: receiving any APC support prevents a later PC award, while a PC recipient may seek only the balance available up to the overall limit through an APC.

The project term is 15 months from the first tranche of funds. A centre may recommend an extension of up to six months for a genuine technical delay or another documented difficulty. Any request beyond 21 months needs the higher approvals specified in the guidelines. Funding is released on a tranche or milestone basis rather than as an unconditional lump sum.

Who can apply when a centre opens an innovator call

The official rules allow either an individual innovator who does not yet have a registered startup or an early-stage startup. A company is not required at the application stage for an individual route. The proposed work must be owned by the applicant or covered by a clear licence to use the relevant intellectual property. A team can apply, but the team must agree on a lead innovator. The approved funds are transferred through that lead arrangement, and the team agreement should explain how resulting intellectual property will be held and commercialized.

Individual applicants and startup co-founders must be at least 18 years old on the application date and must provide proof of age and Indian citizenship. The official examples include a valid passport, Aadhaar, or voter ID. A full-time student or an employee of an academic or research institution needs a No Objection Certificate. The NOC must permit participation in the PRAYAS project and confirm the intended ownership of project intellectual property. A student should obtain that document before a centre’s portal closes; a vague letter that only permits an internship may not address the scheme’s requirement.

For a startup application, the entity must have been incorporated in India for no more than five years on the application date. At least 51% of its equity must be held by Indian citizens, and its annual turnover must not have exceeded ₹1 crore in any financial year since incorporation. The applicant must also disclose government and private funding already received. Cumulative government grant support above ₹40 lakh makes the applicant ineligible for PRAYAS 2.0, and the rules require a specific declaration about previous PRAYAS 1.0 support.

A proposal that has already moved beyond the MVP stage is not eligible for this proof-of-concept grant. The rules also exclude pure software development, e-commerce, service-only solutions, and app-only solutions. A product can include software as part of a physical system, but the funded result must be a tangible product with a credible technical development path. The scheme is also not a substitute for an academic research project or a student internship. Applicants are expected to work full-time on the project during the supported term and participate in reviews, mentoring, and evaluation.

What the grant can pay for

The guidelines list practical prototype expenses rather than broad business costs. A defensible budget can include outsourced research and development, design engineering, consultancy, testing, and expert services. It can include raw materials, consumables, spares, fabrication or synthesis charges for the working model, and field tests or pilot production. The rules also mention reliability testing, durability testing, clinical trials where applicable, process optimization, scale modelling, and pilot deployment.

Business travel and event participation may be included within the stated 10% ceiling. Patent filing, including PCT-related costs, is an eligible category. Contingency is allowed within the approved budget. An innovator or founding team with no other income may be recommended for a sustenance allowance of up to 20% of the approved PRAYAS grant, but this is discretionary, must be approved by the local monitoring committee, and requires full-time engagement without other formal employment. It is not a guaranteed founder salary.

The grant cannot repay pre-existing loans or commitments. It cannot pay rent for the applicant’s own accommodation, create a general infrastructure facility such as a shed, or serve as a stopgap for unrelated professional work. The guidelines also say the PRAYAS grant should not be used to pay usage charges to the incubator. Keep each cost tied to a prototype milestone, identify the unit and quantity, and explain why the item is necessary at that stage. This makes it easier for a centre to distinguish a technical cost from ordinary operating overhead.

How the application route works

There is no single student deadline to enter in place of a centre call. The practical route is centre-led:

1. Monitor the official NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 page and the PMU’s innovator information page for the publication of a centre-level application route. The DST page links to the programme framework, while the PMU page describes the PC and APC applicant categories.
2. Choose a PC or APC that matches the maturity and technical demands of the proposal. A normal technology-based prototype belongs at a PC; a deep-tech project needing specialized infrastructure, advanced validation, or a higher technology-readiness progression may fit an APC.
3. Read the centre’s own call notice, form, annexures, sector focus, and submission instructions. Centre capacity and local screening matter because the centre will host the work and monitor milestones.
4. Prepare the technical proposal, work breakdown, milestone schedule, bill of materials, testing plan, commercialization route, IP evidence, team or lead agreement, identity documents, and prior-funding declaration. Add an employer or institution NOC when required.
5. Submit through the route named in the active centre call. The central portal used for the recently published 2.0 incubator call is not a startup application portal, so do not register there as a student or startup expecting a PRAYAS award.
6. Be ready for technical questions, a presentation, budget revision, and due diligence. If selected, sign the centre’s terms, receive funds by tranche, use the approved categories, and report progress against the agreed milestones.

The official guidelines describe screening and approval through the PRAYAS Local Monitoring Committee. A committee can approve the requested amount, reduce it, or reject the proposal. The decision is binding under the programme rules. Unused funds from an incomplete project must be returned, and support can be discontinued for missed milestones, misused funds, or loss of project viability.

Documents to prepare before the next innovator call

Build a compact application pack rather than a generic business plan. Start with a problem statement that identifies the user, the physical failure or unmet need, and the measurable result the prototype must achieve. Add a system diagram, key technical risks, an initial bill of materials, fabrication assumptions, and a test protocol. A month-by-month schedule should show what will be designed, built, tested, and changed during the 15-month term.

Include evidence that the team owns the relevant IP or has permission to use it. For a multi-person project, document the lead innovator and the team’s IP arrangement. Include age and citizenship proof, startup incorporation and equity records where relevant, turnover information, and a full prior-funding statement. A student or employee should attach the correct NOC. Finish with a commercialization roadmap: likely users, a first pilot or customer, the next validation step, and the funding or incubation route after the prototype.

The strongest proposal is not necessarily the one with the biggest budget. It is the one where each requested rupee produces evidence: a fabricated subsystem, a test result, an iteration, a field trial, an IP filing, or a working unit. Explain what will be true at the end of each milestone and what decision the result will allow the team to make.

Fit check for students and early-stage teams

PRAYAS is a good match for a student who can show technical ownership, access to the skills needed to build the product, and a realistic route from concept to a physical prototype. A low-cost sensor, assistive device, agricultural machine, diagnostic instrument, clean-energy component, or manufacturing tool may fit if the proposal is genuinely technology-driven and can be tested. The examples are illustrative; the official scheme is sector-agnostic, while APC proposals are expected to meet a higher deep-tech or advanced-prototype bar.

It is a weak match for an app idea with no physical product, a service business seeking payroll, a finished MVP seeking scale capital, or a research project whose main outcome is a paper or internship. It is also unsuitable for a team that cannot commit to the project, cannot explain IP ownership, or has already exhausted the programme’s funding limits.

For now, the correct action is preparation rather than submission. The latest published 2.0 call closed on 30 June 2026 and concerned incubators. Keep the official NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 page and the PMU innovator page as the verification points, and wait for a named PRAYAS Centre or Advance PRAYAS Centre to publish an active innovator window before treating this opportunity as open.