Chinmay Bidkar
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9 August 2016, India :
India is coming up with different strategies to promote startups here. The Department of Science and Technology has launched a Rs 100 Crore program called NIDHI which will benefit our startups. NIDHI is National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations, it has three main schemes :
NIDHI Prayas– It will be focused on addressing the gap between idea and prototype funding. Under this scheme, the department plans to set up 10 Prayas centres across incubation centres supported by it.
NIDHI Feed Support System– It will be set up for funding early-stage startups.
NIDHI Centres for Excellence– It will help startups go global.
The key stakeholders of company includes 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.
Harkesh Mittal, who heads the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board at the Department of Science and Technology said, “DST will soon revise the total funding limit to startups at supported incubators from up to Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The revised investment limit is soon to be implemented.”
Apart from the above, it has also launched other schemes like New Generation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGen IEDC), Grand Challenges and Competitions for Scouting Innovations (GCC), Promoting and Acclerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS), Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR), Start up NIDHI, Technology Business Incubator (TBI), Seed Support System (SSS), Accelerator, Centers of Excellence (CoE).