AICTE Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students (SPICES)

What is AICTE SPICES?

AICTE SPICES. The Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students, is a student-development scheme run by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Education. According to AICTE's student-development scheme listing, SPICES supports the creation and strengthening of student clubs in AICTE-approved technical institutions so that students can grow beyond the classroom.

According to the AICTE SPICES guidelines, the scheme provides a one-time grant of Rs 1 lakh to one selected student club in an institution, and the institution must put in a matching contribution of at least Rs 1 lakh. The combined corpus lets the club plan and run a structured set of activities across an academic period rather than one-off events.

Key objectives

• Develop student clubs for the well-rounded development of students by promoting their interests, creativity and ethics.
• Create model clubs that other clubs, within the same institution and across institutions, can learn from and replicate.
• Encourage institutions to invest their own funds in co-curricular and extra-curricular student activity, not only academics.

Who is eligible for AICTE SPICES?

An institution can apply if:

• It is an AICTE-approved technical institution that meets the minimum period of existence set in the scheme guidelines.
• It nominates a single student club with at least the minimum number of student members required by the scheme.
• It commits to a matching contribution of at least Rs 1 lakh from institutional funds.
• It submits only one proposal; one proposal per institute is admissible.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual student. SPICES has no direct student application; the proposal comes from the institution.
• The institution is not AICTE-approved or does not meet the minimum period of existence.
• The institution has already submitted a proposal in the same round, a second proposal from the same institute is not eligible.

Because the benefit flows to a club and not to a person, students should not expect a personal scholarship or cash payment under SPICES. The gain is access to a better-funded, better-organised club.

What documents are required for AICTE SPICES?

How to apply for AICTE SPICES

AICTE SPICES is an institutional scheme. The steps below are for the nodal officer or faculty coordinator applying on behalf of the institution.

1. Confirm that the institution is AICTE-approved and meets the minimum period of existence stated in the current SPICES guidelines and FAQ document on aicte.gov.in.
2. Inside the institution, select one student club with the required minimum membership and a clear plan of activities to nominate.
3. Secure a written institutional commitment to contribute at least Rs 1 lakh to match the AICTE grant.
4. Log in to the AICTE web portal (aicte.gov.in) with the institution's credentials and open the SPICES / student-development scheme module when the call for proposals is open.
5. Fill in the online proposal — club details, member list, activity plan and budget, and upload the supporting documents.
6. Submit the single proposal before the deadline and retain the acknowledgement. AICTE then evaluates proposals and releases the grant to selected institutions.

How much benefit does AICTE SPICES provide?

The scheme releases a one-time grant of Rs 1 lakh to one selected club per institution. With the institution's matching Rs 1 lakh, the club works with a corpus of roughly Rs 2 lakh. The money is meant for the club's planned activities; events, materials, competitions and outreach: not for individual payments to members. Because it is a one-time grant, institutions are expected to sustain the club afterwards from their own resources.

Help and contact

• AICTE Industry-Institute Development Cell (IDC) administers SPICES.
• Email: spicesidc@aicte-india.org
• Phone: 011-29581334 or 011-29581304 during AICTE working hours.

Because SPICES is a niche institutional grant with a small, one-time benefit, an individual student's practical route is to join or help run an active club and encourage the institution's SPICES nodal officer to apply during the next call for proposals.