Key Points of the National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) Program

1. As a part of the Startup India initiative, the DST aims to transform the start-up ecosystem in India. It has committed 500 crores for the implementation of new projects in the forthcoming years.
2. NIDHI's primary focus is to establish a conducive and innovation-led entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly engaging the youth, which will have a positive impact on India’s socio-economic development.
3. The program not only aims to provide technological solutions to societal needs but also seeks to create job opportunities and wealth generation.
4. The main stakeholders of this initiative include various central government departments, state governments, R&D and academic institutions, mentors, angel investors, financial institutions, industry experts and veterans, venture capitalists and the private sector.
5. NIDHI is designed to support each stage of a budding start-up from its inception to market stage with its 8 components.
6. The first component PRAYAS was launched on September 2, 2016, to support innovators in building prototypes of their start-up ideas, providing a grant of up to Rs.10 lakhs and access to a Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab).
7. The Seed Support System is the final component of the program. It provides up to Rs.1,00,00,000 for each start-up, facilitated through the Technology Business Incubators.
8. The government has announced a significant 450% increase in its allocation of Rs.180 crores in the DST budget for the current financial year, to expand the innovation and start-up-centric initiative across the country.

Components of NIDHI

The National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) comprises eight components, which include:

1. NIDHI GCC – Grand Challenges and Competitions for scouting innovations.
2. NIDHI-PRAYAS – Support from Idea to Prototype.
3. NIDHI-EIR – A support system to reduce risk.
4. Startup-NIDHI.
5. NIDHI-TBI – Converting Innovations to start-ups.
6. NIDHI-Accelerator – Fast-tracking a start-up through focused intervention.
7. NIDHI-SSS – Providing early-stage investment.
8. NIDHI-CoE – A World-class facility to help startups go global.

The above information would be helpful for candidates preparing for UPSC 2023 .

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