RKVY Innovation & Agri-Entrepreneurship — ₹5 Lakh Pre-Seed and ₹25 Lakh Seed Grants Through R-ABIs
The government's agri-startup incubation grant
The Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Programme is a component of RKVY (formerly RKVY-RAFTAAR) run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It works through a network of RKVY Agri-Business Incubators — R-ABIs — hosted at agricultural universities, ICAR institutes and IITs, with five Knowledge Partners coordinating. Each R-ABI runs cohorts: a pre-seed programme for idea-stage agripreneurs and a seed-stage programme, called PRASFUTAN at many centres, for startups with a minimum viable product.
Support is a grant, disbursed against milestones during a two-month residential incubation, with technical mentoring from the host institution and connections to follow-on investors. Active 2026 cohorts have included IIT BHU's ninth R-ABI cohort (closed 31 May 2026), ICAR-CIRCOT's ANKUR and CCS NIAM's SABI programme.
Two stages of support
| Stage | Grant | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed (idea to prototype) | Up to ₹5 lakh | Agripreneurs and early startups with an idea and a plan to reach a prototype |
| Seed (product to market) | Up to ₹25 lakh, capped at 85% of project cost | Startups with a minimum viable product in agriculture or allied sectors |
- •Two-month residential incubation at the R-ABI with technical and business mentoring
- •Access to the host institute's labs, farms and pilot facilities
- •Investor connects and pitching platforms for follow-on funding
- •No equity taken; the grant is released in milestone tranches
Ministry, Knowledge Partners and R-ABIs
The Ministry sets the guidelines and funds the programme. Each R-ABI's selection committee, with Knowledge Partner oversight, screens applications, hears pitches and recommends grants; the Ministry sanctions through the Knowledge Partner.
Agri and allied, incubated at an R-ABI
- •DPIIT-recognised startup (individuals and unregistered teams may enter pre-seed cohorts and incorporate on selection)
- •Working in agriculture or allied sectors — agri-tech, food processing, animal husbandry, fisheries, farm mechanisation, supply chain, agri-biotech, waste management, renewable energy for farms
- •Not a subsidiary of a foreign company
- •Willing to be a resident incubatee at the R-ABI for at least two months
- •For seed stage: a minimum viable product and ability to bring 15% of project cost
What the R-ABI application needs
- •Certificate of Incorporation and DPIIT recognition (or founder KYC for pre-seed teams)
- •Shareholding pattern showing no foreign parent
- •Pitch deck and product description; for seed stage, MVP evidence and field trial data
- •Project proposal with budget, the 15% own contribution and milestones
- •Founder and team profiles
- •Financial statements or bank statements; declaration of other government support
- •Undertaking to complete the residential incubation
Questions founders ask about the RKVY programme
One whose host institute matches your domain — a dairy-tech startup to a veterinary or dairy institute, a farm-machinery startup to an agricultural engineering centre. The agristartup.gov.in portal lists all R-ABIs and their open cohorts.
Yes. It is grant-in-aid, capped at 85% of the approved project cost, with no equity taken.
You should be incubated at one. Applying to several cohorts is possible but only one grant is sanctioned for the same project.
AgriSURE, NABVENTURES' ₹750 crore fund, is the equity step for agri startups that have proved the model; many R-ABIs also connect graduates to agri-focused angel networks.