BIRAC opens 4th E-YUVA national call: fellowships up to Rs 50,000/month — deadline 31 October

Deadline: 31 October 2026. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) — a public sector enterprise under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India — has opened the 4th National Call for Proposals under the E-YUVA scheme, inviting young innovators to take up entrepreneurial projects in biotechnology with fellowship, research grant, incubation and mentoring support.

The call has two tracks. BIRAC's Innovation Fellows is for individuals who have completed a Masters or PhD: postgraduate fellows receive Rs 30,000 per month plus a Rs 3 lakh per year research grant, while postdoctoral fellows receive Rs 50,000 per month plus Rs 5 lakh per year, for 18 months (extendable by 6 months). Fellows work full-time at an E-YUVA Centre and are expected to move toward startup creation. BIRAC's E-YUVA Fellows is for undergraduate teams of up to 5 students, who receive Rs 7,500 per quarter per student plus a Rs 2.5 lakh per team per year research grant for 12 months.

Proposals can span healthcare, lifesciences, diagnostics, medical devices, drugs, vaccines, industrial biotechnology, bioinformatics, agriculture, waste management, sanitation, clean energy, and AI/IoT applied to these areas. Importantly, IP generated during the fellowship stays with the innovators — BIRAC and the E-YUVA Centres claim no ownership.

Applications are submitted online through the BIRAC portal (birac.nic.in), where applicants can select up to 3 preferred E-YUVA Centres. Shortlisted candidates pitch before an expert committee. Masters applicants must apply within 3 years of their degree and PhD applicants within 2 years; female candidates are exempt from these time limits.