{"id":66203,"date":"2026-02-07T17:49:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=66203"},"modified":"2026-02-07T17:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:21:31","slug":"deep-tech-startup-eligibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-02-2026\/deep-tech-startup-eligibility","title":{"rendered":"Government Lays Down Eligibility Criteria For \u2018Deep Tech\u2019 Start-ups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy\/ Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Government has officially defined \u201cDeep Tech Start-ups\u201d through a gazette notification issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is deep technology?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deep tech refers to <strong>advanced and disruptive technologies<\/strong> that have the potential to trigger transformative change, and provide solutions for the future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The term is used to describe <strong>cutting-edge research <\/strong>in nanotechnology, biotechnology, material sciences, quantum technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data sciences, robotics, 3D printing, etc.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eligibility Criteria for Deep Tech Start-up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the DPIIT notification, a deep tech start-up must\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spend most of its money on <strong>research and development (R&amp;D) <\/strong>activities;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Owns or is in the process of creating significant novel <strong>intellectual property <\/strong>(IP) and taking steps to commercialise the same;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Faces extended development timelines,<strong> long gestation periods, high capital and infrastructure requirements<\/strong>, and carries large technical or scientific uncertainty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A start-up is a company that is less than 10 years old, and has an annual turnover of less than \u20b9200 crore. However a <strong>deep tech company<\/strong> can consider itself a start-up for as long as<strong> 20 years<\/strong> and has <strong>a turnover of up to \u20b9300 crore.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Certification Mechanism:<\/strong> To be counted as a deep tech start-up, companies must apply to the DPIIT for a certificate. The decisions are based on guidance from an <strong>Inter-Ministerial Board of Certification<\/strong>, comprising:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Joint Secretary, DPIIT (Convener)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Representative from Department of Science and Technology (DST)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Representative from Department of Biotechnology (DBT)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It also <strong>prohibits a defined start-up<\/strong> from investing in activities that are<strong> not directly connected to its core mandate<\/strong> of working and creating new knowledge like investing in real estate or speculative assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of India\u2019s Deep-Tech Ambitions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Global Leadership:<\/strong> It positions India as a trusted R&amp;D hub in the &#8220;China+1&#8221; global landscape, leveraging its massive STEM talent pool to lead in frontier technologies like Quantum Computing and 6G.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technological Sovereignty: <\/strong>Reduces critical reliance on foreign imports for national security, defense, and space, ensuring India isn&#8217;t vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Solving Local Challenges:<\/strong> Enables <strong>India-first<\/strong> solutions for massive social hurdles, such as AI for rural healthcare, precision agriculture for food security, and green hydrogen for energy independence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Value:<\/strong> A robust deep-tech ecosystem enables India to move up the global value chain, shifting from <strong>low-cost services and assembly-based manufacturing to high-value research,<\/strong> design and intellectual property creation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deep tech often requires large upfront investment and long development timelines, making it less attractive to traditional venture capital.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limited access to specialised labs, supercomputing and testing facilities slows innovation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A shortage of specialised research talent and relatively low industry\u2011linked R&amp;D spending compared with global peers hinder progress.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deep tech solutions often face regulatory and adoption barriers that delay commercialisation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India needs to strengthen R&amp;D, improve IP and regulatory support To unlock deep tech\u2019s potential,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a need to\u00a0 build talent through industry\u2011academia collaboration, promote global partnerships, and encourage market adoption.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With policy backing and funding, deep\u2011tech startups are set to drive innovation and economic growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme Fund<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The scheme has an outlay of <strong>Rs 1 lakh crore over 6 years<\/strong>, with Rs 20,000 crore allocated for FY 2025\u201326, funded from the Consolidated Fund of India.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Department of Science and Technology (DST)<\/strong> will serve as the nodal department for implementation of the RDI Scheme.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key objectives <\/strong>of the Scheme are as follows;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Encourage the private<\/strong> sector to scale up research, development, and innovation (RDI) in sunrise domains and in other sectors relevant for economic security, strategic purpose, and self-reliance,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Finance transformative projects at higher levels of<strong> Technology Readiness Levels (TRL),<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support acquisition of technologies<\/strong> which are critical or of high strategic importance,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Facilitate setting up of a <strong>Deep-Tech Fund of Funds.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/technology\/centre-expands-definition-for-startups-with-official-term-for-deep-tech-companies\/article70599087.ece#:~:text=It%\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Union Government has officially defined \u201cDeep Tech Start-ups\u201d through a gazette notification issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What is deep technology? <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Deep tech refers to advanced and disruptive technologies that have the potential to trigger transformative change, and provide solutions for the future. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The term is used to describe cutting-edge research in nanotechnology, biotechnology, material sciences, quantum technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data sciences, robotics, 3D printing, etc.  <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> text <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-02-2026\/deep-tech-startup-eligibility\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66203"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66221,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66203\/revisions\/66221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}