Gujarat Sustenance Allowance — Up to ₹30L Grant for Innovators — Frequently Asked Questions

The scheme offers a grant of up to ₹30 lakh. The money is given as financial assistance towards innovation and product development work rather than as a repayable loan.

It is a grant. No equity is taken in your venture and the assistance is not structured as a loan that has to be paid back, which makes it non-dilutive for the founder.

Any individual or group of individuals with an innovative idea can apply, provided the idea is recommended by an approved Nodal Institution. The scheme is open across science, technology, engineering, agriculture and healthcare, and startups already receiving benefits under the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) are eligible too.

Neither appears among the scheme's stated requirements. The eligibility criteria that are published centre on having an innovative idea and securing a recommendation from an approved Nodal Institution, along with being an individual or group working on that idea.

It covers prototype development costs such as raw materials and consumables, hardware and software, professional services, equipment and tools. It also funds market research into product viability, testing and trial phases, and marketing and publicity support for national and international events.

No. Marketing and publicity assistance for events is provided, but travel and accommodation expenses are expressly excluded from that support.

No fixed application deadline is mentioned. The scheme is effective from 7 August 2020 to 6 August 2025, and applications are treated as rolling within that period.

Applications are made online. Register on the Startup Gujarat portal (https://startup.gujarat.gov.in/home) using your email ID, verify the details and sign up through the Common Application Form. After that, log in with your registered email and password, complete the details on your dashboard, click the Apply Now icon, and select the Sustenance Allowance component from the list of schemes. The official scheme document is available at https://ic.gujarat.gov.in/documents/commondoc/2020/13-GR_02092020.pdf.

A committee of experts from the Industries and Mines Department, Gujarat — potentially joined by representatives of approved Nodal Institutions — reviews the applications. They look at how innovative the idea is, the economic growth it could drive, and the feasibility of the project. Shortlisted applicants may then be asked to present or attend an interview before final selection.

Gujarat Sustenance Allowance — Up to ₹30L Grant for Innovators is offered by Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, a government body. It is provided as non-dilutive funding.