SBIRI – Small Business Innovation Research Initiative
100% grant funding up to ₹50 lakh of project cost, and 70% of everything above it, for biotech product and process development.
What you get
Up to ₹50 lakh at 100% · above that, ₹50 lakh plus 70% of the excess
Nodal ministry
Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
Support type
Grant
Best suited for
Prototype / PoC · Seed / Early Stage
Typical timeline
Calls twice a year — 1 April to 15 May and 1 September to 15 October
What this scheme actually is
SBIRI is BIRAC's public-private partnership instrument for early and late-stage biotech product development. The funding structure is unusually generous: the first ₹50 lakh of project cost is fully funded, and 70% of anything beyond that. It supports startups working alone or in consortia with universities, research institutions or not-for-profits.
Implementing agency: BIRAC
What the scheme sets out to do
Who can apply
What you get
How to apply, step by step
- 1
Size the project against the funding structure
A ₹50 lakh project is fully funded; a ₹1 crore project attracts ₹85 lakh. Understand your contribution before you scope.
- 2
Apply in one of the two annual windows
1 April to 15 May, and 1 September to 15 October, with occasional additional need-based calls.
- 3
Build the product-development case
Technical plan, regulatory pathway, market and commercialisation route, with a costed budget by head.
- 4
Execute and report
Milestone release with utilisation certificates and technical progress reporting.
What we actually do on a SBIRI 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.