NIDHI – A hundred crore programme to
support start-ups in India
To provide financing
support to startups, the Department of Science and Technology (hereinafter
referred to as ‘DST’) has launched a Rs. 100 Crore programme called National
Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). The programme is
based on a multi-stage action plan, which is aimed at running a cluster of new
schemes. All the schemes taken under this programme will benefit maximum number
of technology based young startups. NIDHI’s main aim is providing help to
startups across the country in terms of both funding and incubation support.
The key schemes taken
under the programme include:
- NIDHI Prayas
- NIDHI Feed Support System
- NIDHI Centres for Excellence
Under NIDHI Prayas
scheme, DST will set up 10 Prayas centres all along its incubators. These
centres will work to address the gap between idea and creating a sample product
for funding. To provide funding for early stage startups “NIDHI Feed Support”
system will work. Whereas, to take excellent startup ideas at global level
“NIDHI Centres of Excellence” is there.
So far DST has supported
100 technology focused incubators across the country and aims to help about 15-20
other incubators. It offers a seed incentive to every startup that is part of
its incubators. In turn, incubator invests the same in the form of debt or
equity in the companies.
The main stakeholders of
NIDHI scheme include different Govt. and non Govt. departments, ministries of
the central government, state governments, institutions, angel investors, VCs
and many others who wants to a part of the growing Indian Startup ecosystem.
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