Lok Sabha Question No. 151 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: EIR Programme
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Arvind Kumar Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *151 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## EIR PROGRAMME

- *151 Dr. ARVIND KUMAR SHARMA:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ǒव£ान और Ĥौƭोिगकȧ मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of startups that have been supported under the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence  (EIR)  programme  of  the  National  Initiative  for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) by the Department of Science and Technology (DST);
- (b) whether  grants  have  been  disbursed  under  this  program  to  aspiring entrepreneurs or to startups; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY & EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

ǒव£ान और Ĥौƭोिगकȧ तथा पृØवी ǒव£ान मंğालय के  राÏय मंğी (èवतंğ Ĥभार) (डॉ . ǔजतɅġ िसंह)

- (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

## STATEMENT AS REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C)  OF  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  151  FOR  27.07.2022  REGARDING  EIR PROGRAMME

(a) Under National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI)-  Entrepreneurs-in-Residence  (EIR)  program,  604  number  of aspiring entrepreneurs or startups have been supported so far.

(b) & (c) Yes Sir, the grants have been disbursed in the form of fellowship to  the  selected  aspiring  entrepreneurs  or  startups  across  the  country through a network of 29 Technology Business Incubator (TBIs) who act as a program implementation partner for NIDHI EIR program.

Entrepreneurs-in- Residence (EIR) is the program introduced under the umbrella of National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) by Department of Science & Technology (DST) in the financial year 2016-17. This program aims to inspire and provide support to S&T qualified persons who aspire to be an entrepreneur and has an innovative idea. The NIDHI EIR program is positioned as a pre-incubation program to generate new pipeline of entrepreneurs or startups.

The main objective  of  NIDHI  EIR  program  is  to  encourage  graduating students to take entrepreneurship instead of seeking jobs. The selected NIDHI-EIR support recipient (aspiring entrepreneurs/startups) is eligible for  grant  up  to  Rs.30,000/-  per  month  for  a  period  of  12  months.  This fellowship is extendable  up  to 18 months  in  case  of deserving candidates.  Since  the  launch  of  NIDHI  EIR  program  grant  of  Rs.19.03 crore  has  been  disbursed  to  604  number  of  aspiring  entrepreneur  or startups. This state wise list of NIDHI EIR recipients is given at Table 1.

## Table 1

| State             |   Number of NIDHI EIR supported entrepreneurs/startups |
|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |                                                      6 |
| Assam             |                                                     12 |
| Bihar             |                                                     10 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                                                      8 |
| Goa               |                                                      6 |
| Gujarat           |                                                     33 |
| Haryana           |                                                     13 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                                                      2 |
| Jammu and Kashmir |                                                      3 |
| Jharkhand         |                                                      4 |
| Karnataka         |                                                     90 |
| Kerala            |                                                     31 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |                                                     18 |
| Maharashtra       |                                                     94 |
| Manipur           |                                                      1 |
| Odisha            |                                                     47 |
| Punjab            |                                                      2 |
| Rajasthan         |                                                     18 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                                                     77 |
| Telangana         |                                                     18 |
| Uttarakhand       |                                                      6 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                                                     54 |
| West Bengal       |                                                     25 |
| Delhi             |                                                     25 |
| Pondicherry       |                                                      1 |
| Total             |                                                    604 |

*****