भारत सरकार GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards 2025

Department of Science and Technology
Home >> OnGoing Nominations >> National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards 2025

01/04/2023

Nomination Start Date

08/03/2024

Nomination End Date

Announcement Date
Help Desk
National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards 2025
Eligibility
Decoration
No. of Awardees
Who can nominate ?
Selection Process
Ceremony Details
Notifications

National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards 2025(Discontinued)

National Innovation Foundation (NIF)-India, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, invites entries of unaided technological innovations and traditional knowledge developed at grassroots by an individual (Citizen of India) or group. The innovations can be in the field of agriculture, health, energy, household or utility, transportation, livestock etc. leading to the reduction in drudgery, livelihood generation, development of plant varieties or herbal remedies for human/ animal/ farming problems, or any other low cost sustainable green technologies. These should be unaided/ unsupervised and an outcome of one's own creativity, without any technical support from external agencies. Creative ideas for innovative technologies/ techniques solving persistence problems of society, which may not have been developed into prototypes, may also be submitted.
 
For the 14th National Biennial Competition for Green Grassroots Unaided Technological Innovations, Ideas & Outstanding Traditional Knowledge, the entries can be submitted during April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025, which is the last date for submission.
 
Under the National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards, there are six levels of awards as under:
 
1. Life Time Achievement Award*
 
2. National First Award
 
3. National Second Award
 
4. National Third Award
 
5. State Award
 
6. Consolation Award
 
*Conferred to an outstanding innovator with demonstrated lifelong creativity.

Eligibility

Uneducated or school dropout 

Eligible

School students (up to class 12) or those out of school and up to 17-18 years of age)

Eligible

ITI/ Polytechnic diploma students or Diploma holders

Eligible

Individual innovators with no professional/ technical training or science/ technology related education 

Eligible

Individuals affiliated with any formal institution and without duties related to Scientific, Technological (S&T)/ Technical or Research and Development (R&D) related work

Eligible

Retired individual innovators with no science/ technology related education and without professional experience of S&T/ R&D activities

Eligible

Students enrolled in professional courses like engineering, medical, pharmacy, etc., and professional graduates/ postgraduates 

Ineligible

Individuals affiliated with any formal institution and engaged in Scientific, Technological/ Technical or Research and Development related work 

Ineligible

Self-employed well qualified individuals, Professional freelancers

Ineligible

Retired persons with professional Scientific, Technological/ Technical or Research and Development related work experience 

Ineligible

Girls, women, differently-abled and other individuals from disadvantaged sections of the society, from backward and remote regions are specially encouraged to apply provided they are otherwise eligible.

Decoration

1.      Life Time Achievement Award – Rs. 7,50,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

2.      National First Award – Rs. 5,00,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

3.      National Second Award – Rs. 3,00,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

4.      National Third Award – Rs. 1,00,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

5.      State Award – Rs 50,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

6.      Consolation Award - Rs 10,000/-, Trophy, Certificate

*under consideration for revision

No. of Awardees

Lifetime Achievement Award – 1

National Awards - 10-15 including all the three categories National First/ Second/ Third

State & Consolation awards – 15-20

The number of awards may vary subject to submission of eligible applications of innovations during the competition period. If there are no eligible innovations, awards in one or more categories may not be given. 

Who can nominate ?

Any Indian National based in India can nominate himself or herself or an individual innovator or group for consideration for this Award as per the eligibility criteria mentioned above.

There is no limit on the maximum number of innovations that can be submitted by an individual or a group. 

Selection Process

The evaluation follows a three tier process

Screening of nominations – All nominations of innovations will be scrutinised for the eligibility criteria and completeness of information. Those ineligible will be intimated. Those eligible but with incomplete information will be asked to provide complete technical details with photos and videos, wherever available.

All eligible and complete nominations will be reviewed for degree of novelty. Those, which are found to lack novelty or common will not be taken forward and the concerned innovator will be intimated.

Only novel/ unique (at least in certain aspects) innovation nominations will be taken forward for validation, user feedback, IPRs protection, etc.

Scientific validation – Innovations will be validated with the help of designated Laboratories, Centres, Institutions, Universities, etc. as the case may be.

In some cases, like in case of plant varieties or herbal technologies, validation may take a year or more. In all such cases, the nominations will be considered for award in a subsequent competition after positive validation reports have been received.

Selection and shortlisting of awards – All innovations with scientific validation/ user feedback will be presented before a Committee consisting of experts of eminence from different institutions. The Committee after scrutinising the documents will assign marks as per the set criteria and recommend the list of awardees.

Ceremony Details

The presentation of the Awards will be made at an Award Ceremony on a date and time as may be decided. 

For more details , kindlyvisit National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards 2025 Portal

https://nif.org.in/