E-YUVA (Empowering Youth for Undertaking Value Added Innovative Translational Research)

What is E-YUVA?

E-YUVA, helping Youth for Undertaking Value Added Innovative Translational Research, is a fellowship scheme of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector enterprise of the Department of Biotechnology. E-YUVA funds students and early-career researchers to turn a biotech idea into a product, with money, lab access and mentoring, in the hope that some of them start companies.

E-YUVA is delivered through dedicated hubs called E-YUVA Centres (EYCs), each housed inside a university or institute and mentored by a BIRAC BioNEST bio-incubator. Each EYC has a BIRAC-supported pre-incubation space of 3,000 sq ft or more with basic research infrastructure; heavier requirements are met through the linked bio-incubator. For the incubator scheme behind that link, see the BioNEST guide on this site.

Two fellowship categories

• BIRAC's Innovation Fellows, for post-graduates and above.
• BIRAC's E-YUVA Fellows, for undergraduate student teams.

Areas covered

Proposals are accepted in healthcare, life sciences, diagnostics, medical devices, drugs, vaccines, drug formulation and delivery, industrial biotechnology, bioinformatics, agriculture, secondary agriculture, waste management, sanitation, clean energy, and AI, IoT or automation applied to any of these. BIRAC explicitly encourages interdisciplinary proposals from any stream.

Who is eligible for E-YUVA?

Innovation Fellows. You can apply if:

• You are an Indian citizen who has completed a Masters or PhD in any discipline.
• PhD holders apply within 2 years of completing the degree; Masters holders within 3 years. Female candidates are exempt from this time limit.
• You are willing to work full time at an E-YUVA Centre.
• Your proposal is translational. An innovative product or technology addressing an unmet need, with real commercialisation potential.

E-YUVA Fellows (undergraduates), you can apply if:

• You are part of a team of up to 5 Indian students pursuing under-graduation in any domain, from the same or different colleges. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged.
• The team has a mentor or guide.
• The team applies through an E-Cell of a college or institute; where members come from different colleges, each member's institution must have an E-Cell, Institutional Innovation Council or incubation centre.

You cannot apply if:

• You are currently pursuing a PhD; such students cannot be considered for the fellowship grant, and selected fellows cannot begin a PhD during the fellowship tenure.
• You are an OCI or PIO cardholder, or have voluntarily acquired foreign citizenship. NRIs holding Indian citizenship remain eligible.
• You are past the post-degree window, more than 2 years after a PhD or 3 years after a Masters — unless you are a female candidate, who is exempt.
• You are a company or an established start-up seeking product funding. That is not what E-YUVA does; BIRAC's BIG, SBIRI and BIPP schemes cover those stages and each has a guide on this site.
• You are a member of the public looking for a personal grant. E-YUVA is a competitive research fellowship, not a welfare benefit.

What documents are required for E-YUVA?

How to apply for an E-YUVA fellowship

1. Watch for the national call for fellowships; BIRAC advertises E-YUVA calls in national dailies, on birac.nic.in and in biotechnology magazines. Applications can only be submitted during an active call.
2. Register on the BIRAC portal at birac.nic.in and log in.
3. Choose the correct category: Innovation Fellow if you hold a Masters or PhD, E-YUVA Fellow if you are an undergraduate team applying through your E-Cell.
4. Fill in the application with your innovation proposal, the unmet need, the proposed product or technology, methodology, milestones, budget and the route to commercialisation.
5. Indicate up to 3 preferred E-YUVA Centres where you would like the fellowship hosted.
6. Submit online before the closing date and keep the acknowledgement.
7. Clear the eligibility screening done by the chosen EYC, followed by online technical review by subject experts.
8. Attend the presentation before a technical expert committee with a BIRAC nominee at the E-YUVA Centre. Selected applicants sign an agreement with the EYC and are announced as BIRAC's Innovation Fellows or E-YUVA Fellows.

How much does E-YUVA pay?

BIRAC's Innovation Fellows

Each E-YUVA Centre can host 3 Innovation Fellows at any given time.

BIRAC's E-YUVA Fellows (undergraduate teams)

• Stipend: Rs 7,500 per quarter per student, released quarterly to the student's account subject to the mentor's approval.
• Annual research grant: Rs 2,50,000 per team, released to the institute's account in two instalments of 75% and 25% and managed by the mentor.
• Duration: 12 months. Each EYC supports up to 5 teams of up to 5 students every year.

Undergraduate fellows work in their own college or university labs but must spend 3 to 4 weeks at the E-YUVA Centre or its knowledge partner during the fellowship.

Who can become an E-YUVA Centre?

E-YUVA Centres are selected separately from fellows. A university or institution established as a legal entity under Indian law with at least 51% Indian stakeholders is eligible, whether public or private, provided it has a life sciences department, is at least 3 years old, and has an innovation body such as an E-Cell, Institutional Innovation Council, IP cell, technology transfer office or incubation centre. Applications must be routed through the head of the institution.

BIRAC funds each centre for an initial 3 years, extendable on performance review, with indicative support of about Rs 107.5 lakh: roughly Rs 40 lakh non-recurring for refurbishing and equipment in year one, and recurring support for centre staff, four workshops a year, travel, outreach and contingency. Applications from Tier II and Tier III cities are encouraged.

Intellectual property and expected outcomes

Under the E-YUVA guidelines, intellectual property generated during the fellowship rests with the innovators, neither BIRAC nor the E-YUVA Centre claims IP rights. The scheme's stated deliverables are "individual to company" conversion and IP creation for Innovation Fellows, and building a culture of innovation and capacity at undergraduate level for E-YUVA Fellows.

Help and contacts

• BIRAC to 011-24389600 / 011-49968888, email birac.dbt@nic.in
• Scheme page; birac.nic.in, E-YUVA section, with guidelines and the step-by-step application guide
• Your nearest E-YUVA Centre, the first point of contact for queries about hosting, facilities and selection

Applications are free. Selection is by expert review and presentation only.