Scheme for Assistance for Research & Development Activities: Assistance to R&D Institutions/ Laboratories set up by the State Government or by Government of India

What is the Gujarat R&D scheme's assistance to government laboratories?

The Scheme for Assistance for Research & Development Activities is one of fifteen schemes notified by the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020. The scheme was published on 1 September 2020 and its operative period ran from 7 August 2020 to 6 August 2025.

The scheme has four separate components, and this page covers the third: assistance to R&D institutions and laboratories set up by the State Government or by the Government of India. Unlike the other three components, this one carries no published percentage and no fixed ceiling. The assistance for a government-established laboratory is customised to the project and decided by the State Level Evaluation Committee (SLEC) on the basis of what the specific project needs.

That design makes sense once the purpose is clear. The other components subsidise private investment at a fixed rate. This component funds public research infrastructure, a state or central laboratory whose whole cost is a public cost, so the government sets the amount by appraising the project rather than by applying a formula.

According to the Industries Commissionerate, proposals under the R&D scheme are submitted to the Commissionerate in the prescribed format, undergo expert review before committee approval, and are disbursed after sanction subject to availability of funds.

Who is eligible under this component?

An institution can apply if:

• It is an R&D institution or laboratory set up by the Government of Gujarat or by the Government of India, evidenced by the order or notification establishing it.
• It has a defined research project with an itemised requirement; machinery, equipment, hardware, software and the associated running cost.
• The project has relevance to industry in Gujarat, since the scheme sits inside an industrial policy rather than a science policy.
• It can produce audited accounts, an annual report and a Detailed Project Report for appraisal.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible under this component:

• Individuals cannot apply. There is no personal benefit, no stipend and no fellowship under this component.
• Private companies, partnership firms, proprietary concerns and trusts are not eligible under this component. They are covered by the other components of the same scheme — the R&D or product development centre component, or the contract and sponsored research component.
• Industrial associations are not eligible here either; they have their own component, which funds up to 60% of project cost for machinery, equipment, hardware and software subject to Rs 5 crore.
• Colleges and universities that are not state or central government R&D institutions do not qualify under this component.
• A project already fully funded from another government source will not be funded again for the same equipment or activity.

What do the four components of the R&D scheme cover?

Placing this component beside the others is the quickest way for an applicant to find the right door. Most people who reach this page are actually looking for one of the other three.

How to apply for assistance to a government R&D laboratory

1. Prepare the Detailed Project Report. Set out the laboratory's objectives, the research areas covered, the itemised equipment and software requirement with quotations, the phasing of expenditure, the running cost, and the benefit the facility will deliver to industry in Gujarat.
2. Assemble the supporting file, the order or notification establishing the institution, CSIR/DSIR recognition or provisional approval where claimed, audited accounts and annual reports, and a statement of any other government funding for the same project.
3. Submit the proposal in the prescribed format to the Office of the Industries Commissionerate, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382 010. Register the institution on the Investor Facilitation Portal at ifp.gujarat.gov.in, the single online window administered by the Industries and Mines Department, so the file can be tracked.
4. Go through expert appraisal. The Commissionerate refers the proposal for technical evaluation before it is placed before the State Level Evaluation Committee.
5. Obtain the SLEC sanction, which fixes the assistance amount and the conditions, including reporting and utilisation requirements.
6. Draw the assistance in instalments against utilisation certificates and proof of expenditure, subject to availability of funds in the scheme's budget.

Because there is no annual window, timing is driven by the institution's own project cycle. Filing early in a financial year improves the chance of a sanction being backed by an available budget in the same year.

How to check the status of a proposal

Proposals under this scheme are institutional files, not portal transactions, so the reliable route is direct. Track the file with the Additional or Joint Commissioner of Industries at the Office of the Industries Commissionerate, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar, quoting the proposal's inward number. The Commissionerate lists icsalt@gujarat.gov.in and 079-23252532 as the R&D scheme contact on its scheme page, and iccord@gujarat.gov.in with 079-23252683 as the general coordination contact. The Investor Facilitation Portal helpline, 1800 233 1847, can direct a caller to the right branch.

Why proposals get held up

• Vague project scope. An appraisal committee cannot fix an amount for a proposal that does not itemise equipment and cost.
• No evidence of government establishment, which is the single eligibility test for this component.
• Overlap with existing funding from a central agency for the same equipment.
• No demonstrated link to Gujarat industry, which is what distinguishes this industrial-policy scheme from general science funding.
• Missing audited accounts or utilisation certificates for earlier grants.
• Budget constraints, the Commissionerate's own scheme notes state that disbursement follows sanction and availability of funds, so a sanctioned project can still wait for release.

Is the scheme still operative?

The Scheme for Assistance for Research & Development Activities under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 was operative from 7 August 2020 to 6 August 2025. An earlier version of the R&D scheme ran from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019, and the Commissionerate's older scheme page still carries those 2015-19 parameters, which is a common source of confusion.

Gujarat has since announced a new industrial policy, reported as effective from 1 June 2026, carrying its own R&D package with capital subsidy for R&D centres. Before preparing a proposal, confirm the operative scheme and the current terms on ifp.gujarat.gov.in under Government Policies. This page records what the 2020 scheme published; it does not assume those terms continue unchanged.

Help and contacts

• Office of the Industries Commissionerate: Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382 010; R&D scheme contact icsalt@gujarat.gov.in, 079-23252532
• Investor Facilitation Portal: ifp.gujarat.gov.in, helpline 1800 233 1847, 10:30 AM to 6:10 PM on working days
• Scheme documents: published under Government Policies on the Investor Facilitation Portal and on ic.gujarat.gov.in

No fee is charged for filing a proposal under this scheme.