SBIRI (Small Business Innovation Research Initiative)

What is SBIRI?

SBIRI. The Small Business Innovation Research Initiative, is a funding programme run by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit public sector company set up by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

SBIRI was launched in 2005 as a public-private partnership programme to push Indian companies into risky, early-stage biotechnology research that commercial lenders will not fund. According to BIRAC, SBIRI had committed approximately Rs 576 crore across 337 projects as of January 2024.

SBIRI is not a personal benefit scheme. There is no stipend, scholarship or individual grant. Proposals come from registered companies and LLPs, and BIRAC's money goes to the entity, not to a person.

Key objectives

• Support early-stage, pre-proof-of-concept research in biotechnology by Indian industry.
• Reduce the risk that stops small and medium biotech firms from attempting product development.
• Build a public-private partnership route between industry and India's academic research base.
• Push affordable biotech products, platform technologies and prototypes towards commercial readiness.

Main features

• Funding is a mix of grants-in-aid and loans, not a pure grant.
• Two phases, Phase I for proof of concept, Phase II for scale-up and validation.
• Two calls a year, typically 1 April to 15 May and 1 September to 15 October.
• Applicants must be Indian-controlled: at least 51 per cent shareholding by Indian citizens, or at least 50 per cent Indian partners in an LLP.
• Applications are online only, on birac.nic.in.

Who is eligible for SBIRI?

Your entity qualifies if:

• It is a company registered under the Companies Act 2013, an LLP under the LLP Act 2008, or a joint venture formed by such entities jointly with private or public partners including universities or institutes.
• At least 51 per cent of the company's shares are held by Indian citizens holding Indian passports, or at least 50 per cent of the LLP's partners are Indian citizens.
• It has either a DSIR-recognised in-house R&D unit, or a granted or acquired patent, or affiliation with a recognised incubation centre.
• The proposed work is early-stage biotechnology research; proof of concept, lab-scale technology, small-scale validation, or a platform technology or prototype.
• The proposal is submitted while a call is open.

Academic partners: public or private universities and colleges in India, national research laboratories and non-profit research institutions: can join a proposal as collaborators and receive the grant portion, but cannot lead.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual, student or researcher applying in a personal capacity, SBIRI has no individual application route.
• You run a sole proprietorship or an unregistered firm.
• Your company is majority foreign-owned, falling below the 51 per cent Indian shareholding threshold.
• You are a university or research institute applying on your own, without a company or LLP as the lead applicant.
• Your entity has none of the three R&D capability markers — no DSIR recognition, no patent, no incubator affiliation.
• The project is a routine commercial activity or a late-stage manufacturing scale-up with no research content.
• No call for proposals is currently open.

What documents are required for SBIRI?

How to apply for SBIRI

1. Confirm eligibility: your entity must be a company, LLP or joint venture registered in India with at least 51 per cent Indian shareholding, or 50 per cent Indian partners in an LLP. Individuals cannot apply.
2. Check that you hold one of the three R&D markers: a DSIR-recognised in-house R&D unit, a granted or acquired patent, or affiliation with a recognised incubation centre.
3. Watch birac.nic.in for a live SBIRI call for proposals. BIRAC runs two calls a year, typically 1 April to 15 May and 1 September to 15 October.
4. Register your entity on the BIRAC portal and create a login. Registration should be done well before the closing date, since the account has to be verified.
5. Download the call's funding guidelines and proposal proforma, and prepare the technical proposal. The hypothesis, the innovation, the phase of support sought, milestones and deliverables.
6. Prepare the budget, separating the amount sought from BIRAC from the company's own contribution, and identifying which portion is grant-in-aid and which is loan.
7. Attach the statutory documents; incorporation certificate, shareholding proof, R&D capability proof, audited accounts and the board resolution.
8. Submit online before the closing date and time. BIRAC accepts online submissions only and does not entertain hard copies.
9. Respond to the expert committee review. Shortlisted applicants are usually asked to present the proposal before a technical committee.

How much funding does SBIRI provide?

SBIRI funding is structured as a mix of grants-in-aid and loans, and the exact ceilings and percentages are set in the funding guidelines issued with each call rather than fixed permanently.

Phase I, proof of concept, R&D towards product development, lab-scale technology, refinement and small-scale validation, and platform technology or prototype building. According to BIRAC, Phase I support is extended as grants-in-aid of up to 80% of the total project cost together with interest-free loans.

Phase II; process and product development, scale-up of technology, validation and field trials. BIRAC states that Phase II support is offered in the form of soft loans.

Where a proposal has academic collaborators, BIRAC's contribution to the academic partner is capped as stated in the call documents. Applicants should read the specific call's funding guidelines PDF, since the split between grant and loan is the single most common point of confusion.

Cumulatively, BIRAC reports that SBIRI has committed about Rs 576 crore across 337 projects since the programme began in 2005.

What happens after an SBIRI proposal is submitted?

1. BIRAC screens submissions for eligibility and completeness.
2. Eligible proposals go to a technical expert committee for scientific review of the hypothesis, novelty and feasibility.
3. Shortlisted applicants present the proposal to the committee.
4. Approved projects receive a sanction letter setting out the grant and loan components, milestones and disbursement schedule.
5. Funds are released against milestones, not as a single lump sum.

Common reasons SBIRI proposals are rejected

• Applicant is an individual, student or proprietorship rather than a company or LLP.
• Indian shareholding below 51 per cent, or fewer than 50 per cent Indian partners in an LLP.
• No DSIR recognition, patent or incubator affiliation to show R&D capability.
• Proposal is not early-stage research. A routine manufacturing or marketing plan with no research hypothesis.
• Budget does not separate the company's own contribution from the BIRAC ask, or mixes up grant and loan components.
• Submitted after the call closed, or submitted only in hard copy.
• Academic institution attempts to lead a proposal instead of joining as collaborator.

Help and contact for SBIRI

• BIRAC helpline: +91-11-49968888 and +91-11-49968830
• Email: birac[dot]dbt[at]nic[dot]in
• Address: BIRAC, 5th Floor, NSIC Business Park, NSIC Bhawan, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi 110020
• Portal: birac.nic.in: call notices, funding guidelines and proposal formats are published here

SBIRI applications carry no consultant requirement. BIRAC deals directly with the applicant entity, and no agent can secure a sanction on your behalf.