NIDHI – Seed Support Program
Post-incubation seed capital of up to ₹1 crore, deployed by DST-supported Technology Business Incubators into their own incubatees.
What you get
Up to ₹1 crore per startup, subject to TBI guidelines
Nodal ministry
Department of Science & Technology (DST)
Support type
Equity
Best suited for
Seed / Early Stage
Typical timeline
Depends on the host TBI's Seed Support Management Committee cycle
What this scheme actually is
NIDHI-SSP is a closed loop: only startups already incubated at a DST-supported TBI or STEP can access it, and the incubator's own Seed Support Management Committee decides. The route in, therefore, is to get incubated first. Money comes as debt, equity or convertible instruments depending on the incubator's policy, and funds product development, trials, test marketing and IP.
Implementing agency: NIDHI TBIs and STEPs
What the scheme sets out to do
Who can apply
What you get
How to apply, step by step
- 1
Get incubated at a NIDHI TBI or STEP first
There is no direct route. Identify DST-supported incubators in your domain, apply for incubation and complete at least three months of residency before you are eligible for seed support.
- 2
Secure DPIIT recognition and check the 51% holding
Both are hard eligibility conditions. Foreign-majority cap tables are disqualified regardless of the technology.
- 3
Prepare the seed support proposal
Product development plan, testing and trial costs, test-marketing budget, IPR spend and the milestones each tranche buys. The committee funds a plan, not a wish.
- 4
Present to the Seed Support Management Committee
The incubator's committee evaluates and sanctions. Expect questions on commercialisation route, why the amount is what it is, and what happens if the first milestone slips.
- 5
Draw against milestones and report
Funds release tranche-wise. The instrument may be convertible — read the conversion terms against your future cap table before signing.
What we actually do on a NIDHI-SSP mandate
Services this usually needs
No consultant can guarantee a sanction — that decision sits with the evaluating committee, bank or incubator. We commit to an honest eligibility view, an application built to the evaluator’s format, filing inside the window and a documented follow-up cadence. That is stated in every engagement letter we sign.