NIDHI – Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS)

NIDHI – Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS) is a scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The scheme supports young innovators and startups in transforming innovative ideas into prototypes or proof of concept (PoC) by providing financial assistance of up to ₹10 lakh. It also offers access to incubation infrastructure, mentorship, technical and financial guidance, and industry linkages through Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) and PRAYAS Shalas (Fab Labs). The scheme aims to promote indigenous innovation, technology-based entrepreneurship, and the development of commercially viable products in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission. Objectives The objectives of NIDHI – PRAYAS are :- - To enable translation of an innovative idea to a prototype. - To provide a platform for faster experimentation and modify approaches in the idea to market journey. - To indigenously generate innovative solutions relevant to the local and global problems. - To attract a large number of youth who demonstrate problem solving zeal and abilities to work on their new technology/knowledge/innovation-based startups. - To enhance the pipeline in terms of quality and quantity of innovative start ups to the incubators. To build a vibrant innovation ecosystem, by establishing a network between innovators, academia, mentors and incubators.