Financial Assistance for Testing and Validation of Innovative Products & Services

Gujarat Government is making persistent efforts for creating a holistic innovation & startup ecosystem involving industry, academia and government. The Education Department, Government of Gujarat has extended the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0) & allocated a corpus of INR 500 Crores to support early-stage student innovators and startups to develop their prototypes and venture into creative projects.

The Gujarat Student Startup and Innovation Hub (i-Hub Gujarat) runs various flagship initiatives to provide end-to-end support to innovators and startups. Under this initiative, i-Hub Gujarat invites applications from eligible startups and innovators seeking financial assistance for the testing, validation, pilot implementation and field validation of innovative products and services. The Scheme is designed to support beneficiaries in generating technical, operational and user-validation evidence, enabling product refinement, strengthening quality and compliance readiness, and facilitating the further deployment, market readiness and commercialization of innovative products and services.

Financial Assistance for Testing and Validation of Innovative Products and Services is a flagship initiative of i-Hub Gujarat designed to support eligible innovators, startups and entrepreneurs in generating critical technical, operational and user-validation evidence for their innovative products and services. The initiative provides financial assistance of (UPTO INR 10,00,000) to facilitate testing, validation, field trials and evidence generation, enabling beneficiaries to strengthen their products and progress towards quality, compliance, deployment and commercialization.

Objectives of the scheme:

1. Facilitate structured testing and validation of innovative products and services.
2. Support pilot implementation with government, industry, academic institutions or other relevant end users, wherever applicable.
3. Generate technical, operational and user-validation evidence.
4. Support refinement and readiness of products and services for further deployment or commercialization.
5. Enable eligible startups and innovators to undertake defined testing and validation activities within the approved scope.

Who are eligible to leverage Financial Assistance for Testing and Validation Support of Innovative Product & Service:

Any student, innovator, startup founder or co-founder, director or partner up to 35 years of age shall be eligible for the Support Grant if they fulfil any one of the following conditions:

1. Startup registered with Gujarat ROC and recognised as a startup by DPIIT
2. Eligible for benefits under SSIP 2.0
3. Have availed benefits under SSIP 2.0
4. Have availed benefits under a startup scheme of the Government of Gujarat
5. Have availed benefits under a scheme of i-Hub Gujarat, or is a beneficiary of an i-Hub Gujarat flagship programme

Stages and activities the assistance can be used for:

1. MVP / Early Stage / Growth / Scaling
2. Product / Service testing and validation
3. Field trials and field validation
4. Testing or validation services, where specifically approved
5. Any other activity directly related to approved testing / validation, as approved by i-Hub Gujarat.

Activities the scheme supports:

1. Product testing & validation
2. Service testing & validation
3. Field trials / field validation
4. Quality testing & certification

Testing & Certification Support:

The assistance will cover expenses related to quality testing, certification and validation from Testing and Certification Institutes of State Governments, Central Government, Academic Institutes, PSUs, Private and Public Private Partnership Institutes financed by state or central government, and certification agencies of international repute that certify as per BIS, CDSCO, NABL, ERTL, NTH, TEC, SAMEER, CPRI, CIPET, CE, USFDA, TUV, SGS or any other country, regional or international standards relevant to the startup's product or service.

Financial Assistance for Testing and Validation support as per Guidelines under SSIP 2.0:

IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ:

1. In addition, the proposed product, process or service should be suitable for the proposed testing and validation activity. The applicant should have a competent team with relevant technical/domain skills and experience and should demonstrate that the proposed concept/idea is sustainable and commercially viable, as stipulated in the administrative approval.
2. The applicant shall submit a defined testing/validation plan covering the proposed activity, implementing/host organization or intended end users, objectives, scope, methodology, timeline, estimated expenditure and expected outcomes, wherever applicable. Where applicable, the applicant shall obtain the permissions, regulatory approvals, ethical clearances, safety certifications or other statutory compliances required for the proposed activity before commencement.

Click here to download the Testing and Validation Support Scheme FAQs

For any queries related to Financial Assistance for Testing and Validation of Innovative Products and Services, you can email us at support@ihubgujarat.in