National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) is an umbrella programme conceived and developed by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship division, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups.

The sole objective of the NIDHI-Seed Support System (NIDHI-SSS) is to ensure timely availability of the seed support to the deserving incubatee startups within an incubator, thereby enabling them to take their venture to the next level and facilitate their success in the marketplace.

Eligibility criteria for applicants:

• Only open to slightly mature start-up ventures that have Completed / have advanced substantially on prototyping and have a version of the product / service that can be demonstrated and are between 1 to 3 years old
• Only open to slightly mature start-up ventures that have Completed / have advanced substantially on operational testing in the market, and have garnered real customer data (even if from a small number of customers) and this customer data should be demonstrable in some shape and form
• Only open to slightly mature start-up ventures that have Revenue generating start-ups will be preferred
• Only open to slightly mature start-up ventures that have A business plan that uses technology innovation, and have the potential to scale up to the national / international market
• The venture should be ideally have been bootstrapped, i.e. funded from own resources, friends and family, and perhaps some small seed funding
• The venture should be not have received formal funding from investors
• The venture should be incorporated as a Private Limited Company, or should be capable of getting incorporated upon selection for incubation at iCreate within 45 days of acceptance of the offer
• The venture should be able to give stipulated equity at par to iCreate, upon joining
• The venture will be physically incubated at the iCreate Campus, specifically some key process step(s) of the value chain should be based within campus premises
• The venture will be physically incubated at the iCreate Campus, specifically the key promoter group will need to spend at least one continuous week per quarter on campus