Multiplier Grants Scheme: Boosting R&D in India

What is the Multiplier Grant Scheme?

The Multiplier Grants Scheme (MGS) is an initiative fostered by the Indian Government's Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) to promote research and development in the Electronics and IT sector. It serves as a bridge between companies and universities, supporting innovations in various industries. If you are an MSME owner, you can collaborate with a research institute or a university for your product development under this scheme.

Objectives of MGSs

The main features of these initiatives by the Government of India are:

Strengthening and deepening the links and partnerships between industrial companies and academic and R&D institutions.

The schemes make it easier to reinforce the development of research activities focused on industry within academia, which are tightly coupled to market-required competences.

Promote and support the development of new and innovative products, as well as their subsequent commercialisation. Also promotes regional product development.

Market-ready product realisation to facilitate migration from theoretical concepts to concrete and commercially viable solutions.

Upgrade India's competitive edge in electronics and IT industries. Furthermore, contribute to the nation-building process through empowering technology.

How does proposal grants work?

Here is the brief description of how essentially these grant schemes work:

The institute which is interested in working in the industry, plans, or ideas submit their proposals. The proposal must be jointly submitted with the industry partner to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology.

The proposal must essentially qualify under the MGS procedure. The submitted idea must align with the innovation in Electronics or IT. The proposal consists of the entire journey from prototype to commercialisation.

In addition to this, the institute must assign a Project Investigator with the ability to guide at every level in this research scheme. Also, the institute should have excellent research and development skills.

The proposal must include a thorough market study. This consists of all the factors that these research schemes consist of starting from market, demand and supply, SWOT analysis, etc.

Furthermore, the proposal must be industry-driven, which includes the infrastructure needed and the skilled manpower needed, in house capabilities. If required, a committee is formed to check these requirements.

How to Apply for the Multiplier Grants Scheme?

Visit the official Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) website.

From the list of schemes, choose the Multiplier Grants Scheme. Locate and click on the link for “Application form for submission of joint R&D project proposal.” The form will open in PDF format. Download and print this form.

Fill out the form with all your necessary and accurate project details.

On the same scheme webpage, you’ll find the “Invitation of Project Proposals” link. Review the list of areas currently being invited for proposals. Make sure your project area matches one of these.

Attach all required supporting documents to your filled-in application form as per the instructions.

Send your complete application, along with the required documents, to the specified address mentioned on the MeitY site under the scheme section.

Who is eligible for MGS?

The eligibility for these grant schemes is:

You must be a startup, incubator, MSME business organisation or a student with strong results in academia.

The project must be jointly undertaken by the company and the academic institute or government R&D institute.

The submitted proposal must align both technically and commercially with electronics and IT.

Businesses must have the capability to scale up the research. This includes all the required infrastructure, like a skilled team and proper technology to carry out all the production needs.

The academic partner must have at least 5 years of experience in the relevant research field to generate excellent research-proven results in the area.

Features of MGSs

A few features of the Multiple grant schemes are:

Promotes Academic Growth

These grant schemes act as a bridge between companies and universities to support innovations in industries. It promotes the institute's researchers' growth as well as the benefit for business product development.

Encourage R&D development in India

These schemes are an excellent platform boosting Research and development in India. Under these research schemes, one can develop next-generation technologies in electronics and IT, with support for prototyping, packaging, and steps towards commercialisation.

Substantial Government Grants

The businesses get a fixed government grant for development. The government covers the expenses for the research, which includes human resources, equipment, consumables, travel, training, contingencies, and overheads (up to 15% of project cost). Here is the breakdown of financial assistance offered under these schemes:

Market-ready products

The development is all focused on market demands to align products. The proposal consists of all the factors that these research schemes consist of, starting from buyer needs, pricing, demand-supply, and SWOT analysis, leading to technically and commercially viable offerings.

Facilitates IP and Royalty Sharing

Under these grant schemes, one signs clear agreements on intellectual property rights and royalty or lump sum sharing, ensuring all parties benefit from commercial outcomes of the research conducted.

Supports and strengthens startups and entrepreneurs

These schemes provide direct funding access to the business and startups, along with boosting research and development. It is a platform that transforms research results into real business opportunities faster, with excellent market focused cost competitive products.

Other government schemes that align with MGSs

SCHEME	HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH MGS
Startup India	Support startups and innovation in India; MGS provides R&D funding.
MSME Innovation Scheme	Aligns with MGS by supporting MSME innovation and product development.
Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Electronics	Offers direct incentives linked to your production output when manufacturing electronics and IT hardware, thus competing with MGS.
Technology Incubation & Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE)	Supports tech startups and can be combined with MGS for funding.

Conclusion

If you are a startup owner in electronics or IT, the Multiplier Grants Scheme is a powerful opportunity to innovate, collaborate, and grow. By sharing both the risk and the resources with the government and academic partners, you can turn your R&D ideas into successful, market-ready products.

FAQ

What is the budget of the Multiplier Grants Scheme?

The DeitY has launched a grant scheme with a total outlay of 36 crore. Individual industrial funding would be limited to a maximum of Rs. 2.0 crores per project, and for joined industry these values would be limited to Rs. 4.0 crores for a duration of three years.