We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 688 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Raise money

Grants & non-dilutive funding

Free money: schemes, grants, and competitions.

Level All Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Who's asking Everyone Aspiring Founder Idea-Stage Founder Builder Launcher Grower Student Founder Indie Hacker Technical Solo Founder Non-Technical Founder Domain Expert Women Founder Anywhere Founder Repeat Founder

Showing 5 of 21 questions. Clear filters

What government schemes and grants can an early Indian startup actually get? Beyond the Seed Fund, the real menu is: BIRAC's BIG grant (up to INR 50 lakh, non-dilutive) for biotech/life-sciences, DST's NIDHI-PRAYAS (up to IN... Intermediate 3 resources → What startup grants and competitions can a student in India apply to? As a student you're in the sweet spot: your college's IIC (Institution's Innovation Council) and MHRD's Innovation Cell run internal grants and Sma... Beginner 3 resources → How do I write a grant application that actually gets funded? Grant reviewers fund clarity, not hype: state the problem, the specific innovation, why it can't be done cheaply off-the-shelf, and exactly what th... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I get free credits and non-cash support (AWS, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA) that stretch my runway like a grant? Cloud and tooling credits are the fastest non-dilutive money most founders ignore, and they can be worth lakhs in real burn saved. Apply to AWS Act... Beginner 3 resources → How do I claim R&D and innovation support (patent fee rebates, SIDBI, technology development funds) beyond the headline grants? The headline seed grants get all the attention, but there's a second layer of R&D and IP support that quietly saves you real money. DPIIT-recognise... Advanced 3 resources →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →