The grant that funds a person, not a company
DSIR backs a named individual with an idea and no company, covers up to 90% of a first project, and then halves that share when the work turns into an enterprise.
Summary
- Phase-I has two categories. Category I pays up to INR 2 lakh against a project costing up to INR 5 lakh. Category II pays up to INR 20 lakh against a project of INR 5 lakh to 35 lakh.
- Both categories are capped at 90% of approved project cost, so the innovator funds roughly a tenth of the work and the grant does the rest.
- Phase-II is applied for separately, has its own eligibility test, and covers only 50% of a project costing between INR 35 lakh and INR 1 crore.
Read the eligibility line of almost any central scheme and the first thing it wants is an entity. A private limited company, an LLP, a registered partnership, a Udyam number. Somebody with a working idea, a workshop and no company is locked out before the first question.
PRISM is the exception in the register, and it is the reason we keep the scheme on the list for people who are not founders yet. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research runs it for individual innovators, and it has done since 2013. The design has one hinge that decides how much of your own money you need, and it sits between the two phases.
Who can apply when there is no company yet?
Phase-I is written for an individual Indian citizen with an idea to turn into a working prototype, model or process. Students can apply. The applicant has to be a single named person, so a student team names one lead applicant who carries the proposal and the terms.
There is an unresolved question here worth knowing before you draft. The scheme is branded for individuals, startups and MSMEs, while the operative Phase-I terms specify a single individual applicant. Whether an entity can apply directly under Phase-I is not clearly settled in the primary documents. If you are already incorporated, ask the centre that will screen your proposal rather than assuming either reading.
One thing PRISM does not ask for is worth noting. Its published eligibility carries no recognition requirement, where much of the register gates on it. If you have been putting off an application because you do not hold DPIIT recognition, that is not what stands between you and this scheme.
What does Phase-I pay, and against what size of project?
The grant is set by your project cost, and both the percentage and the ceiling apply. Whichever produces the smaller number is what you get.
PRISM support by phase and category
| Stage | Project cost | Maximum support | Share of project cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-I, Category I: proof of concept, prototypes, models | Up to INR 5 lakh | INR 2 lakh | Up to 90% |
| Phase-I, Category II: working model, process know-how, testing and trials, patenting, technology transfer | INR 5 lakh to 35 lakh | INR 20 lakh | Up to 90% |
| Phase-II: enterprise incubation | INR 35 lakh to 1 crore | INR 50 lakh | Up to 50% |
Work an example, because the interaction catches people. On a Category-II project costing INR 30 lakh, 90% is INR 27 lakh, but the category ceiling holds the grant at INR 20 lakh. On a project costing INR 20 lakh, 90% is INR 18 lakh and the ceiling never bites, so you find INR 2 lakh.
Phase-I support comes with technical guidance, mentoring, expert evaluation and patenting help through the outreach centres that run the scheme on the ground. The money itself is released to the innovator rather than held at the centre.
Why 90% becomes 50% at Phase-II
This is the part of PRISM that changes what you have to arrange, and it is easy to miss because both phases carry the same name.
In Phase-I the grant does almost all of the work. On a INR 20 lakh project you are finding INR 2 lakh. In Phase-II the support is limited to half the project cost. On a project costing INR 60 lakh the grant reaches INR 30 lakh. The other INR 30 lakh has to come from somewhere that is not this scheme.
A grant that covers nine tenths of a project and a grant that covers half of one are different products, whatever the letterhead says.
So Phase-II is not simply a bigger version of Phase-I. It assumes you now have something to co-fund with: revenue, a private investor, a bank facility or another instrument. Plan the move from prototype to enterprise on the Phase-I ratio and you end up with a sanction you cannot draw down. Your share of the cost was never arranged.
The ceiling and the rate interact here too. At the top of the range, a project costing INR 1 crore takes the INR 50 lakh maximum, which is also exactly half. Across the whole band, the 50% rule is the one doing the work.
What Phase-II asks that Phase-I does not
Phase-II is a separate application with its own eligibility, not a continuation you graduate into. You qualify in one of two ways: you are a successful PRISM innovator, or you have demonstrated proof of concept with the support of a government institution or agency.
That second route matters, and it is underused. An innovator who proved the concept under a different government-supported programme can enter PRISM at Phase-II without having done Phase-I. If that describes you, the prior support is the credential and it is worth documenting properly.
The project cost band is INR 35 lakh to INR 1 crore, the aim is enterprise creation rather than a prototype, and the support includes commercialisation and patenting help. Releases are tied to milestones and a project review committee monitors them.
How does a PRISM proposal reach DSIR?
PRISM runs through DSIR's outreach and cluster innovation centres, and your proposal reaches the department through one of them.
- You submit a proposal in the Category-I or Category-II format to an outreach centre.
- The centre screens and evaluates it, and forwards complete proposals to DSIR.
- The PRISM advisory and screening committee reviews and recommends sanctions.
- DSIR sanctions the approved proposals.
- You sign the terms and conditions, and the grant is released in milestone-linked tranches.
Two practical consequences. The centre is your first reader, so a conversation with it before you write is worth more than a redraft afterwards. And because releases are milestone-linked, the milestones you propose become the schedule you are held to. That is the same discipline described in the seven stages of a government application.
What happens if you abandon the project?
PRISM is a grant. It takes no shares, it charges no interest, and if the project runs to its milestones there is nothing to repay.
Abandon it and that changes. The innovator has to refund the funds already disbursed, with interest at 12%. It is still a grant rather than a loan, and the clawback is the condition attached to finishing rather than a repayment schedule.
The practical reading is about honesty at the proposal stage. Do not size a project you cannot staff, and do not propose milestones you already doubt. A smaller Category-I project that completes is worth more than a Category-II sanction you hand back.
Is PRISM open right now?
The register records PRISM as active, and the scheme has run for over a decade with guidelines dating from 2013. No application window is recorded against it, which is not the same as saying one is open.
A scheme can be live policy for years while no call is currently accepting proposals, and this is the distinction that wastes most application weeks. Before you build a proposal, confirm the current call with the department's portal or with the outreach centre you would apply through.
If you are weighing PRISM against the other prototype route in the register, PRAYAS pays more but requires a physical product and runs through host centres on their own cycles. The chooser runs both against your stage, and the full register carries each scheme's criteria with the source behind every line. PRISM's own record sits at its register page.
Frequently asked questions
Can a registered company apply to PRISM Phase-I?
The scheme is branded for individuals, startups and MSMEs, while the operative Phase-I terms specify a single named individual applicant. The primary documents do not settle it. Ask the outreach centre that would screen your proposal before you draft on either assumption.
Do I have to repay a PRISM grant?
Not if the project runs. It is a grant, not a loan, and it takes no . If you abandon the project you refund what was disbursed, with 12% interest.
Can a student apply, and can a team apply together?
Students can apply. The applicant has to be a single named person, so a team nominates one lead applicant, who signs the terms and carries the project.
Do I need to have completed Phase-I to apply for Phase-II?
No. You qualify either as a successful PRISM innovator, or as an innovator who has demonstrated proof of concept with support from a government institution or agency. The second route is open to people who have never touched Phase-I.
General guidance, current as at September 2026. Scheme terms, ceilings and call timings change, and PRISM's operative guidelines are long-standing rather than recently reissued. Confirm the current position with DSIR or an outreach centre before acting. If you want help sizing a project against the right phase, our grants and schemes work starts there.
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Lead - Company Secretarial, Compliance & Fundraise Advisory
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