About NIDHI
National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI)
Introduction
National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) is an umbrella programme conceived and developed by the Technology Translation and Innovation (TTI) Division/ National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups.
The NIDHI programme works in line with the current national priorities and goals and its focus would be to build an innovation driven entrepreneurial ecosystem with an objective of national development through wealth and job creation. NIDHI aims to nurture Startups through scouting, supporting and scaling of innovations by providing them with a series of programme components tailored towards the critical initial phases of the Startup journey.
The key stakeholders of NIDHI include Science & Technology based entrepreneurs, Startup Incubators, academic and R&D institutions, Startup mentors, financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists, relevant government & industry bodies and associations. NIDHI has been developed to suit the national aspirations and on the basis of DST’s three-decade long experience in propelling Startup Incubation centres and Science & Technology based entrepreneurs.
Key Components
The key components of NIDHI are :-
- NIDHI PRAYAS: Promotion and Acceleration of Young and Aspiring technology entrepreneurs – Support from Idea to Prototype
- NIDHI – EIR: Entrepreneur In Residence – Support system to reduce risk for entrepreneurs.
- NIDHI – TBI : Technology Business Incubator (NIDHI-TBI) – Converting Innovations to start-ups.
NIDHI – iTBI : Inclusive- Technology Business Incubator – A new variant of the NIDHI-TBI launched in 2022-’23. - NIDHI – Accelerator : Startup Acceleration Programme – Fast tracking a start-up through focused intervention.
- NIDHI – SSS : Seed Support System – Providing early stage investment
- NIDHI – COE : Centres of Excellence – Globally competitive facilities to help startups go global.
Implementation
While NSTEDB is the funding agency, the NIDHI programmes are implemented through Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) available around the country.
Note : All the NIDHI-Startup funds and offerings are disbursed to eligible startups only through eligible NSTEDB associated incubators across India