Biotechnology ignition grant (big)

Brief

The basic idea of SEED Fund is providing Capital assistance to startups with new and meritorious ideas, innovations and technologies. This would enable some of these start-ups to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel/Venture capitalist or they will reach a position to seek loans from commercial banks /financial institutions. Thus the proposed seed support is positioned to act as a bridge between promoters investment and Venture/Angel investment. This is not an investment scheme, but, rather a support scheme to enable start-ups and incubator to attain sustainability.

Eligibility

• Individual:
• The individual applicant should be an Indian citizen
• The primary applicant should be the Project Leader
• The applicant has to be incubated in an incubator (Incubator could be located anywhere in the country and may/may not be supported by BIRAC). At the time of application, the applicant is expected to have identified preferred incubator. LoI/MoU with the incubator is required for final approval.
• Employed individuals
• • Individual who is a promoter shareholder of a Biotech company or one of the partners in a Biotech LLP will not be allowed to apply as an individual, irrespective of the percentage of shareholding of the applicant in the company.
• Startups/Companies:
• The Company/LLP should be registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956/2013
• The incorporation date of the Company/LLP should not be earlier than 5 years from the date of closing of a particular BIG call.
• A company is considered as 'owned’ by resident Indian citizen(s) if minimum 51% of the capital is beneficially owned by resident Indian citizen(s) and / or Indian companies, which are ultimately owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens
• Company/LLP’s application should be represented by a Project Leader
• The Company/LLP must have its own in-house R&D facility that is functional and adequate to execute the project. If the Company/LLP does not have a functional and adequate laboratory of its own then it should be incubated at an incubator
• If an applicant company, in which any promoter holding more than or equal to 20% of the shares, is a co-promoter of another ineligible company or a partner in another ineligible LLP, then the applicant will not be eligible. The only exception to this shall be situation wherein the latter ineligible company/LLP is operating in non-biotech domain. In case applicant is a LLP: An applicant LLP, in which any of the partners is also a partner in another ineligible LLP or is a co-promoter in another ineligible company, then the applicant will not be eligible. The only exception to this shall be situation wherein the latter ineligible LLP/company is operating in non-biotech domain.

Fund / quantum

• The funding support under BIG is in the form of grantin-aid. Extent of funding is up to INR 50 lakhs.

Tenure

• Active

Benefit tags

• Incubators

• It offers numerous benefits for both incubators and the startups they support. For incubators, it strengthens their capacity to nurture early-stage biotechnology ventures by providing financial resources for seed funding and attracting promising startups. This enhances their track record of successful portfolio companies and strengthens their position within the ecosystem. For startups, the SEED Fund alleviates the financial burden of early-stage development, enabling them to focus on critical activities like proof-of-concept demonstrations and initial market validation. Access to expertise and guidance from established incubators further accelerates their growth and increases their chances of success in the competitive biotechnology landscape.

• Individual:

• The individual applicant should be an Indian citizen

• The primary applicant should be the Project Leader

• The applicant has to be incubated in an incubator (Incubator could be located anywhere in the country and may/may not be supported by BIRAC). At the time of application, the applicant is expected to have identified preferred incubator. LoI/MoU with the incubator is required for final approval.

• Employed individuals

• • Individual who is a promoter shareholder of a Biotech company or one of the partners in a Biotech LLP will not be allowed to apply as an individual, irrespective of the percentage of shareholding of the applicant in the company.

• Startups/Companies:

• The Company/LLP should be registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956/2013

• The incorporation date of the Company/LLP should not be earlier than 5 years from the date of closing of a particular BIG call.

• A company is considered as 'owned’ by resident Indian citizen(s) if minimum 51% of the capital is beneficially owned by resident Indian citizen(s) and / or Indian companies, which are ultimately owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens

• Company/LLP’s application should be represented by a Project Leader

• The Company/LLP must have its own in-house R&D facility that is functional and adequate to execute the project. If the Company/LLP does not have a functional and adequate laboratory of its own then it should be incubated at an incubator

• If an applicant company, in which any promoter holding more than or equal to 20% of the shares, is a co-promoter of another ineligible company or a partner in another ineligible LLP, then the applicant will not be eligible. The only exception to this shall be situation wherein the latter ineligible company/LLP is operating in non-biotech domain. In case applicant is a LLP: An applicant LLP, in which any of the partners is also a partner in another ineligible LLP or is a co-promoter in another ineligible company, then the applicant will not be eligible. The only exception to this shall be situation wherein the latter ineligible LLP/company is operating in non-biotech domain.

• The funding support under BIG is in the form of grantin-aid. Extent of funding is up to INR 50 lakhs.

• Active

Online / portal

Official application / information link: https://birac.nic.in/seedFund.php

Source listing: https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/government-schemes.html