SPARSH – Social Innovation Programme for Products Affordable & Relevant to Social Health
Grant of up to ₹50 lakh for affordable healthcare and biotech products aimed at underserved communities.
What you get
Grant-in-aid up to ₹50 lakh for up to 18 months
Nodal ministry
Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
Support type
Grant
Best suited for
Ideation · Prototype / PoC
Typical timeline
Letter of Intent calls announced twice a year on a thematic area
What this scheme actually is
SPARSH funds biotechnology solving social problems — affordable diagnostics, assistive devices, maternal and child health, sanitation. It runs in two components: Affordable Product Development, and the Social Innovation Immersion Programme. Startups and entrepreneurs apply under Category A of Component I, and the age limit is tight: under three years old.
Implementing agency: BIRAC
What the scheme sets out to do
Who can apply
What you get
How to apply, step by step
- 1
Watch the thematic call
SPARSH calls are announced twice a year on a specific theme with high societal impact. Your product must map to the announced theme — a strong application on last cycle's theme scores nothing.
- 2
Check the 3-year age limit
Entities older than three years are ineligible. This catches out founders who incorporated early and started the science later.
- 3
Submit the Letter of Intent online
The LoI goes through the BIRAC website. Shortlisted LoIs are invited to submit a full proposal.
- 4
Evidence the affordability and the need
SPARSH judges social impact as rigorously as science. Quantify the target population, the current cost of the alternative and the price point you are engineering towards.
- 5
Deliver against the 18-month plan
Milestone-linked release with utilisation reporting, as with every BIRAC grant.
What we actually do on a SPARSH 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.