Funds disbursed to innovators

PSG Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Park (PSG STEP) has disbursed ₹33.64 lakh to four innovators under the NIDHI PRAYAS scheme.

This is the third round of funding by PSG STEP under the scheme.

K. Suresh Kumar, executive director of PSG STEP, told

The Hindu that the Park received about ₹1 crore funding annually to be disbursed to innovators.

Each selected innovator got a maximum of ₹10 lakh in three phases over a period of 18 months and they used the infrastructure at STEP to develop their ideas.

In the first round (till July 2017), 10 innovators received ₹71 lakh.

Of these, except three, the remaining have progressed with their work and have developed commercially viable products.

Second round

In the second round of funding given in February last year, three innovators received ₹25.76 lakh. This year, four were selected and given ₹33.64 lakh.

The next round of funding would be in the next three months and more innovators would be selected for it, he said.

The STEP was looking at products and ideas in different areas and sectors, especially bio technology, bio medical, and nano technology.

Gestation period

The gestation period for developing products in these areas was high, he pointed out. This year, the selected ideas were in agriculture, leather, bio medicine, and nano technology domains.

The National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) was a scheme of the Department of Science and Technology to nurture knowledge-based and technology driven ideas and innovation.

It had Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS) and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) programmes.

Under EIR programme, select candidates got ₹30,000 a month for one year as fellowship. So far, six people had received the amount and this year five more were selected for the fellowship, he added.