NIDHI-PRAYAS: Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups

NIDHI-PRAYAS is a specialized pre-incubation initiative launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). The scheme focuses on addressing the funding gap between an idea and a prototype, specifically catering to hardware-based and product start-ups. It provides young innovators with financial support and access to local network ecosystems to transform their innovative ideas into tangible proof-of-concepts. The grant is administered through designated PRAYAS Centres (Incubators), which offer technical guidance, fabrication facilities, and mentorship. By reducing the early-stage risk for innovators, the scheme aims to build a robust pipeline of technology-driven start-ups across Indian universities and research institutions, fostering a culture of manufacturing and hardware innovation.