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FAQ’s

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Eligibility

Who can apply for the program?

Eligibility criteria:

  • The start-up should be working on innovative solutions for screening, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment enablement that can improve health outcomes.
  • Shareholding by Indian promoters in the start-up should be at least 51% at the time of application to incubator for the scheme, as per Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018.
  • The grant is not generally given for service start-ups working in Trade and Commerce.
  • Incubation Track: Startups which have:
  • Completed pre-clinical trials or clinical equivalence studies
  • Developed a process for quality assurance and quality control
  • Developed a preliminary plan for clinical trials
  • Finalised a plan and vendors for manufacturing units for clinical trial
  • Desirable: Obtained relevant certifications required for obtaining CDSCO test license
  • Desirable: Obtained ethics committee approval from a clinical trial partner

Deployment Track: Startups which have:

  • Obtained necessary regulatory certifications for deployment in public health
  • Capacity to manufacture and deliver required number of product units within stipulated timeframe
  • Willingness to travel for product demonstrations, training of end-users and collecting feedback
  • Capacity to deliver after-sales service in Maharashtra
  • Supply chain to deliver consumables (if any) to Maharashtra
  • Software licenses in place and readiness to work with digital public health infrastructure
  • Willingness to develop training collateral in regional languages
  • Completed clinical validation studies, wherever applicable
  • Desirable: Clinical validation results published
  • Desirable: Products already in use at a few centres/sites
Can I submit more than one application for different technologies?
Yes, applicants can submit multiple applications, but each application must feature a distinct product. However, in the final selection, only one application will be considered per startup.
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Program Structure

What are the different benefits that the top start-ups of the program get?

The program seeks to unlock the potential of Indian healthcare technology innovations for screening, diagnostics, monitoring and treatment enablement through acceleration of innovations over 18 months of active incubation support.

Each winning startup will receive a grant of upto INR 60 lakhs. Startups selected for the Incubation Track will receive support for clinical validation, regulatory approval and go-to-market readiness, while startups selected for the Deployment Track will receive the opportunity to deploy their products in the public health system to collect end-user feedback and data on clinical utility.

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Funding Data

What is the grant structure? What can the grant amount be used for?

The grant amount is disbursed in milestone-linked tranches, subject to demonstration of milestone achievement and timely submission of utilisation certificates.

Incubation Track: Grant support is provided to complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals. The grant amount can be used for expenses related to clinical validation (including manufacturing units for clinical validation and publication of results) at one or more sites, regulatory approval and any other approved expense.

Deployment Track: Grant support is provided to supply product units and consumables (if any), annual maintenance costs, training costs, any travel associated with the above and any other approved expense.

Following expenses will not be supported by the grant:

  • Repayment of loans or any investments made by the founding team or any other person in the venture to date.
  • Pure research projects that intend to demonstrate scientific principles
  • Ideas with no intention of commercialisation I.e., to convert into marketable technologies/products/services.
  • Innovations with serious ethical and safety risks deemed infeasible by experts and that have serious health consequences.
  • Funding cannot be used to support student/faculty research or any other academic research.
Will I be eligible to receive dilutive funding by Social Alpha upon selection?
This will be determined on a case-to-case basis. Startups may be considered for seed funding by Social Alpha’s investment committee subject to due diligence and thesis fitment.
Can I find other funding partners for dilutive investments?
Yes, startups can secure dilutive funding from other investors in the ecosystem.
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Selection Data

What are the important dates to remember during the selection process? By when will the results be announced?

Application start date: 1st September, 2025

Application deadline: 30th September, 2025

Grand jury: November 2025

Results Declaration: Date to be announced shortly

Incubation Begins: Date to be announced shortly

Can I submit my application post deadline?
No, applications submitted post the stated deadline will not be considered for evaluation. There are no possibilities for lateral entry into the program.