NIDHI PRAYAS: A Complete Guide to India's Idea to Prototype Grant
ZeedFund Team on 1 September 2026
Every significant innovation begins as an unproven idea, and that earliest stage is often the most fragile. Before a founder can approach an incubator, an angel investor, or a bank, there needs to be something tangible to show: a working prototype. Building that first prototype takes real capital, and at the idea stage, with no revenue, no track record, and often no company yet formally incorporated, that capital is genuinely difficult to secure.
NIDHI PRAYAS (PRomoting and Accelerating Young and ASpiring innovators and Startups) was designed for precisely this moment, to make sure promising ideas are not lost simply because their creators lacked the resources to prove them. Run by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its broader National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), PRAYAS is deliberately positioned as a pre incubation program. It reaches innovators before they are ready for a formal incubator relationship, giving them room to test an idea rigorously without the financial stakes of failure standing in the way of genuine experimentation.
The program is coordinated nationally through a Program Management Unit, currently housed at the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay, which oversees a growing network of DST selected incubators known as PRAYAS Centres and, for more advanced deep tech ideas, Advance PRAYAS Centres. That network brings institutional rigor and mentorship to what is often an innovator's very first step toward entrepreneurship.
The Funding Opportunity: What NIDHI PRAYAS Actually Offers
Under the current PRAYAS 2.0 guidelines, support scales with how far along an idea is.
- At a PRAYAS Centre, grant support up to Rs. 20 lakh per innovator, aimed at building and validating an initial working prototype.
- At an Advance PRAYAS Centre, funding for more technically demanding, deep tech ideas requiring specialized infrastructure, with a combined overall cap of Rs. 40 lakh per innovator across PRAYAS Centre and Advance PRAYAS Centre support.
- A sustenance allowance, up to 20 percent of the approved grant amount, is available at the PRAYAS Centre's discretion for innovators with no other source of income while they work full time on the idea.
Funding is disbursed directly to the innovator, referred to as a Prayasee, through the selected PRAYAS Centre. It covers prototype materials, testing, and IP related development expenses, not personal living costs beyond the optional sustenance allowance.
Who is eligible
- Individual innovators or very early stage teams with a technology based idea. A formally incorporated company is not a prerequisite.
- The idea should have a genuine technical or scientific basis, not just a business model innovation.
- Applicants who already received PRAYAS 1.0 or 2.0 support for the same idea are generally not eligible to reapply for it.
- Applicants supported through an Advance PRAYAS Centre are not eligible to also apply through a PRAYAS Centre for the same idea, and the reverse applies too, within the combined Rs. 40 lakh ceiling.
How the process works
- Identify a PRAYAS Centre, or an Advance PRAYAS Centre for deep tech ideas. Many are hosted at established TBIs, state startup missions, and IIT or IIM linked incubators.
- Apply directly to that centre with your idea and a basic development plan.
- The centre's local evaluation body assesses the idea and its technical feasibility.
- If selected, funds and access to the centre's Fab Lab or prototyping infrastructure are released in stages, tied to milestones, over a period typically up to 18 months.
Because call cycles and centre level deadlines vary, always confirm the current application window directly with your target PRAYAS Centre or the official NIDHI PRAYAS portal before applying.
The Incubators Powering NIDHI PRAYAS
Ten PRAYAS Centres were originally established at TBIs across the country, and the network has since grown under PRAYAS 2.0 to include Advance PRAYAS Centres for deep tech support. A few widely recognized names in the network include:
Live Funding Opportunities
Each PRAYAS Centre and Advance PRAYAS Centre sets its own domain priorities and available infrastructure, including Fab Labs, prototyping equipment, and testing facilities, so it is worth checking which centre's technical setup actually matches what your idea needs to build and test.
NIDHI PRAYAS Impact So Far
According to figures published by DST's NIDHI program, the scheme has run through five funding cycles across a network of 57 PRAYAS Centres spanning 18 states, supporting more than 1,850 innovators to date. Each PRAYAS Centre is structured to support up to 10 innovators a year at up to Rs. 10 lakh in prototype grant per innovator, backed by roughly Rs. 1 crore a year in centre level support for five years, plus a one time Rs. 1 crore capital grant to set up the centre's Fab Lab in its first year.
That structure is worth understanding because it shapes what a PRAYAS Centre can offer beyond the grant itself. A centre with a fully equipped Fab Lab, funded through that same one time capital grant, can meaningfully shorten the time it takes an innovator to go from concept to a working prototype, which is part of why matching your idea to the right centre's infrastructure matters as much as the funding amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NIDHI PRAYAS only for registered startups?
No. PRAYAS is explicitly designed for the pre incubation, idea stage. Individual innovators without a formally incorporated company can apply, which is one of the things that sets it apart from schemes like the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme.
Do I need to repay the PRAYAS grant?
No. PRAYAS is grant funding. It is not structured as debt or equity, so there is no repayment or ownership dilution involved.
Can I apply to both a PRAYAS Centre and an Advance PRAYAS Centre?
Yes, subject to the overall combined cap of Rs. 40 lakh. Once you receive support through an Advance PRAYAS Centre, though, you generally cannot separately apply through a PRAYAS Centre for the same idea.
What is the difference between NIDHI PRAYAS and NIDHI EIR?
PRAYAS funds the idea and prototype itself: materials, testing, and development costs. NIDHI EIR, by contrast, is a personal fellowship stipend that supports the innovator's living costs while they work full time on validating a business idea. Many founders use EIR and PRAYAS type prototype funding together at different stages.
The Bottom Line
NIDHI PRAYAS fills a genuinely underserved gap: funding for innovators who do not yet have a company, a prototype, or a pitch deck, just a technically credible idea. It is less competitive and more accessible at the entry point than later stage schemes, precisely because it is designed to catch people before they have built anything to show. For anyone sitting on a technology idea with no clear way to fund the first working version, it is worth identifying the nearest PRAYAS Centre and starting the conversation early.