Entrepreneurship and Development Programme

What is the Entrepreneurship and Development Programme?

Entrepreneurship and Development Programme is a grants programme of the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), an autonomous body of the Government of Uttarakhand under the Department of Information Science and Technology. UCOST was established in 2002 and became operational in 2005.

According to UCOST, the Entrepreneurship Development Programme is a flagship initiative to promote science and technology based entrepreneurship in rural and semi-urban Uttarakhand. Its stated aim is a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem that uses science and technology to improve income, self-reliance and employment in the Himalayan region.

The programme's central instrument is the Technology Resource Centre (TRC). A district or block-level hub that demonstrates, incubates and disseminates rural technologies. TRCs develop improved technologies based on locally available natural resources and improve post-harvest techniques so that a raw hill product can be turned into something saleable. UCOST reports that TRCs are currently operational in six districts, with expansion planned.

What the programme covers

• Training programmes in food processing, mushroom cultivation, herbal products, handicrafts, renewable energy and other livelihood-based technologies, aimed at youth, women and marginalised communities.
• Technology Resource Centres, with financial assistance for infrastructure, equipment, training and extension activities.
• Intellectual property rights management, including patent searches for universities, industries and R&D institutions and guidance for inventors through UCOST's Patent Information Centre.
• Venture and technology incubation in emerging areas such as nanotechnology, genetic engineering and high-tech aquaculture, and connecting new ventures with funding sources.
• Technology transfer and commercialisation, helping commercialise goods, technologies and services developed within Uttarakhand.
• RUTAG partnership with the Rural Technology Action Group, blending modern science with traditional knowledge at block level.

Who is eligible for the Entrepreneurship and Development Programme?

You can be considered if:

• You are an entrepreneur, scientist, researcher or teacher from Uttarakhand with a science or technology based project idea.
• You represent an NGO, self-help group, academic institution or college in the state. UCOST's programme page names these three groups explicitly as recipients of financial support.
• Your proposal uses locally available natural resources and creates value from them, which is the test the programme is built around.
• You are willing to present the proposal to a selection committee, because selection is made on a presentation, not on paperwork alone.

You are not eligible if:

• You are looking for a personal cash benefit or a subsidy on a loan. This is a project grants programme, not an individual income-support or loan-subsidy scheme, and there is no personal entitlement to claim.
• You are based outside Uttarakhand or your institution is not in the state.
• Your proposal has no science or technology component and no link to local natural resources.
• You apply outside an advertised call. Applications are invited by advertisement; unsolicited proposals fall outside the selection cycle.

How to apply for the Entrepreneurship and Development Programme

1. Watch for the advertisement. UCOST invites applications through an advertisement. The Entrepreneurship Development Programme page under Grants and Funding on ucost.uk.gov.in carries the current calls; separate calls have been issued for FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27.
2. Prepare a detailed project proposal setting out the technology, the local resource it uses, the beneficiaries, the training or centre you intend to run, an itemised budget covering infrastructure, equipment, training and extension, and the expected outcome.
3. Attach the supporting papers — registration documents of your organisation, proof that you or your institution belong to Uttarakhand, and the bank account details of the organisation.
4. Submit the proposal to UCOST in the manner stated in the advertisement, at Vigyan Dham, Vigyan Sadan Block, Dehradun 248007.
5. Make the presentation. Selection is made on the basis of a presentation before a duly constituted competent committee. Be ready to defend the budget and the commercial logic of the project, not only the science.
6. On sanction, sign the terms and receive the grant in the organisation's account, then report on progress as UCOST requires.

What documents does UCOST ask for?

UCOST's published note on documentation says only that documents are required as per the council's guidelines. The advertisement for each call carries the definitive list, so read it before assembling the file.

Why proposals are turned down

• No local resource link. A proposal that could be run anywhere in India, with no use of Uttarakhand's own natural resources, does not fit the programme's purpose.
• No commercialisation path. The programme exists to create businesses; a pure research proposal with no route to income or employment is a poor fit and belongs under UCOST's separate R&D projects grant instead.
• Weak or unrealistic budget, especially where equipment costs are not backed by quotations.
• Applicant organisation not registered, so it cannot legally receive or account for a grant.
• Proposal submitted outside an advertised call.
• Poor presentation to the committee. Because selection turns on the presentation, a strong written proposal that is defended badly can still fail.

Where to get help

• UCOST, Vigyan Dham, Vigyan Sadan Block, Dehradun 248007.
• Phone: +91-135-2976266.
• Email: ucost[at]ucost[dot]in.
• Entrepreneurship Development Programme page under Grants and Funding on ucost.uk.gov.in, which carries the live calls for proposals.
• SC/ST Cell of UCOST, for applicants from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities who want guidance on the council's programmes.

UCOST also runs separate funding lines for R&D projects, science popularisation and IPR, and travel grants. If your idea is research rather than enterprise, one of those is likely the right door, and applying to the correct line saves a rejection cycle.