SERB-Technology Translation Award (SERB-TETRA)

What is the SERB-Technology Translation Award?

SERB-Technology Translation Award (SERB-TETRA) is a translational research grant of the Science and Engineering Research Board, a body under the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology. SERB has since been subsumed into the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), but its legacy schemes, including TETRA, continue to operate and applications are still processed through the SERB online system.

According to the SERB portal, translational research has the potential to elevate results from fundamental research to a defined technology readiness level, catalysing the growth of institutional infrastructure and creating a platform for entrepreneurial scale-up. SERB-TETRA challenges scientists who already hold SERB grants, such as the Core Research Grant (CRG): to form an effective, functional collaboration with an industry partner and take their breakthrough results to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 and beyond.

In plain terms, TETRA is a bridge grant. Many university laboratories produce a promising, patented result that then stalls because there is no money and no industry link to develop it into something usable. TETRA supplies both a modest budget and the requirement of an industry collaboration to cross that gap.

Who is eligible for SERB-TETRA?

You can apply if:

• You are a Principal Investigator (PI) of an ongoing SERB project, or of an extramural project completed in the last three years.
• You hold or have applied for a patent that acknowledges SERB support.
• You hold a PhD in science, mathematics or engineering, or an MD, MS, MDS or MVSc degree.
• You hold a regular academic or research position at an eligible institution with at least three years of service remaining.
• You have an industry partner willing to collaborate on scale-up.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a student, a post-doctoral fellow without a regular position, or an individual innovator outside an academic institution.
• You are a company or start-up seeking to be the lead applicant, the industry partner supports the project but does not apply as the PI.
• You do not hold a qualifying SERB grant or a patent acknowledging SERB support.
• Your remaining service is less than three years, which would not allow the two-year project to complete safely.

This is a competitive, peer-reviewed grant, not an entitlement. Meeting the eligibility conditions allows you to submit a proposal; the award depends on the recommendation of the Programme Advisory Committee.

How much does SERB-TETRA provide?

According to SERB, the award carries an unstructured budget of up to Rs 15 lakh per year, including overhead but excluding international travel. The grant is normally provided for two years, so the total can reach about Rs 30 lakh over the award period. "Unstructured" means the PI has flexibility in how the budget is allocated across the project heads within SERB's rules.

The grant is meant to cover the incremental cost of translating the patented result — prototype development, testing, validation and the collaboration with the industry partner; up to TRL 5 and beyond.

What documents are required for SERB-TETRA?

How to apply for SERB-TETRA

1. Register or log in on the SERB online portal at serbonline.in (now operating under ANRF). Ensure your researcher profile is complete.
2. Open the SERB-TETRA call and start a new proposal. Fill in the technical details, the patent information and the industry-collaboration plan.
3. Upload the required documents, proposal, biodata, patent details, institutional endorsement letter, industry partner details and the plagiarism undertaking.
4. Obtain the institutional endorsement from the head of your host institution and submit the proposal online before the deadline.
5. Await peer review by the Programme Advisory Committee. If recommended, the award is sanctioned to your institution.

Help and contact

• Portal: serbonline.in (ANRF: anrfonline.in)
• Programme coordination is handled by SERB/ANRF scientists; queries should be raised through the portal helpdesk. No public phone helpline is published specifically for TETRA, so applicants should use the official online contact channels rather than any third-party number.

SERB-TETRA is a specialised, low-volume grant for established academic researchers. It has no citizen application route and no direct cash benefit for individuals outside the research system.