Small Business Innovation Research Initiative(SBIRI)
About the Scheme:
The Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI) scheme of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology was launched in 2005 to boost Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) efforts in the country. SBIRI was the first of its kind, early stage, innovation focussed PPP initiative in the area of Biotechnology. Launching of SBIRI has worked as an enabling platform for the target organizations to realize their potential in terms of product and process development and taking them to the market. It has facilitated innovation, risk taking by small and medium companies and bringing together the private industry, public institutions and the government under one roof to promote the research and innovation in the Indian Biotech Sector. The projects supported under the scheme have resulted in prominent outcomes in the form of some products which have already come to the market and some promising research leads seeing ray of hope for commercialization.
As a unique institutional mechanism, SBIRI has consistently prioritised early stage funding for high risk innovative research and extended support for product development and commercialization in small and medium companies lead by innovators with science backgrounds to get them involved in development of products and processes which have high societal relevance. It has a direct focus on producing products and a sense of urgency for producing defined results that only private sector engagement can produce.
The SBIRI aims to:
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strengthen those existing private industrial units whose product development is based on in-house innovative R&D
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encourage other smaller businesses to increase their R&D capabilities and capacity
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create opportunities for starting new technology-based or knowledge-based businesses by science entrepreneurs
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stimulate technological innovation
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increase private sector commercialisation derived from Government funded R&D
The SBIRI objectives:
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to provide support for early stage, pre-proof-of-concept research in biotechnology by industry,
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to support new indigenous technologies particularly those related to societal needs in the healthcare, food and nutrition, agriculture and other sectors,
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to nurture and mentor innovative and emerging technologies/entrepreneurs, to assist new enterprises to forge appropriate linkages with academia and government
The SBIRI Funding Structure:
The SBIRI scheme operates in two phases viz. Phase I and Phase II. Phase I is early stage pre-proof of concept research and Phase II is late stage development & commercialization of new technologies in different areas of biotechnology.
SBIRI Phase – I: The following structure of funding will be available to industry depending on the project cost and own resources brought in by the promoter to the project.
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If the actual project cost is up to Rs. 25 lakhs, 80% of the project cost will be available as a government grant.
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If the actual project cost is between Rs. 25 lakhs and Rs. 100 lakhs, 50% of the project cost will be available as government grant subject to a minimum of Rs. 20 lakhs and maximum of Rs. 50 lakhs.
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If the project cost is beyond Rs. 100 lakhs, in addition to the Govt. grant of Rs. 50 lakhs, the unit will be eligible for interest free loan upto 50% of the amount (subject to a limit of Rs. 50 lakhs as loan) by which the total project cost exceeds Rs. 100 lakhs.
SBIRI Phase – II: Soft loan upto Rs. 10 crores is provided for a project as per its requirement. Soft loan upto Rs. 100 lakhs carry a simple interest of 1% while the interest rate is 2% (simple interest) on the amount of loan beyond Rs. 100 lakhs. The role of public R&D institution at this stage too is critical, as many of the projects continue to require technical support from the public funded R&D institutions. The partner in the public institution at this stage gets the R&D support as grant.
Who can apply?
The proposals can be made
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Solely by an industry; or
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Jointly by Industry and National R&D Organizations and Institutions: or
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Collaborative projects of common interest to the concerned sector/area proposed by a group of industries/users, national research organizations etc.
If the project involves collaboration among two or more partners, the scope of work and responsibilities of each participating establishment in the project should be highlighted. Public Private Partnership is encouraged and all things being equal, this model will be preferred.
Eligibility criteria for Industry Partner:
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The unit should be registered in India and must fulfill the criteria of Small Business Unit. Here a ‘Small Business Unit’ is defined as an enterprise with not more than 500 employees in R&D.
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The Company should have well established in-house R&D unit recognized by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) or have patent rights (National or International) in the proposed activity.
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The company’s shares should be held to the extent of 51% by the Indian promoters, family and friends and the general public.
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Joint ventures and limited partnerships would be eligible for SBIRI support, provided the entity created meets the above requirements.
Area Coverage:
The scheme covers all areas in biotechnology related to health-care, agriculture, industrial processes and environmental biotechnology, bio-medical devices and instruments, and others.
The scheme has been advertised 21 times since 2005 and the response of the industry has been steady. About 800 companies have approached the department with over 1100 proposals for SBIRI support. The companies from all over India have shown interest in the scheme. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are the top five hubs of SBIRI applicants.
The proposals under SBIRI go through a stringent evaluation procedure to ensure quality research and reward for innovative ideas. The success rate under this scheme is around 14%.
Total 134 projects from small and medium entrepreneurs have been supported. SBIRI has deployed $38 million, of which $6 million in grants and $32 million in soft loans, with debt-to-grant ratio of roughly 5 to 1. Public SBIRI funding has leveraged an additional $40 million in private investment by recipient enterprises as their core contribution, for a total investment of $78 million across approved projects.
The projects are monitored through Project Monitoring Committees (PMCs) and thus the industry gets the technical guidance through the experts in the country. Some products have already reached the market and more are in the pipeline.
I. Single Industry Projects
II. Collaborative Projects
A. Phase I for grants and loan
(Collaboration between/among industries)
D. Phase II for grants and loan
(Collaboration between/among industries)
Projects Supported under SBIRI Scheme
List of Products and Process Developed
