Submit Your Innovation & Get Funded

Igniting Young Minds: YUKTI Innovation Challenge 2025 is Here!

Innovation is the heartbeat of a self-reliant and forward-looking India. To channel this spirit, the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), Government of India, launched YUKTI — Young India Unleashing Knowledge & Innovation. Aimed at spotlighting and nurturing creative ideas across academic institutions, the YUKTI Innovation Repository (YIR) serves as a digital hub to catalog and support the vast pool of innovations, prototypes, and startups developed by students, faculty, and alumni.

With over 2130 IIC institutions actively participating and more than 1.84 lakh ideas, innovations, and startups already submitted, the platform is rapidly fueling India’s innovation engine. Of these, over 96,000 are ideas, 60,000+ are innovations, and 9,800+ are start-ups.

🚀 What’s New? YUKTI Innovation Challenge 2025 (YIC 2025)

YIC 2025, the 4th edition of this national challenge, opens the doors for promising tech-based innovations that are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or above. Institutions can nominate up to 10 top innovations through their IIC portal for this year’s challenge.

But that’s just the beginning.

Selected teams will go through an enriching journey involving mentorship, experiential learning, business model development, and investor pitch opportunities. They’ll also get access to financial assistance and incubation support — giving them a real chance to turn their innovations into impactful ventures.

🔍 Nomination Guidelines for Institutes

To ensure smooth participation, here are the key steps every IIC institution should follow:

• Maintain an Active Repository: Ensure your YUKTI Innovation Repository is active and synced with your IIC login.
• Scouting & Verification: Continuously source and verify ideas and startups from your student and faculty communities.
• Eligibility: Only verified innovations marked as ‘Recommended’ can be nominated.
• Submission Cap: Each institute can nominate up to 10 innovations at TRL 4+.
• Avoid Repeat Nominations: Innovations already funded by MIC, SIH, or other govt. schemes are not eligible.
• Recency Matters: Prefer innovations from the last two academic years.
• Deadline: Nominations close on June 15, 2025, 11:59 PM.

🧭 How to Nominate via the IIC Portal

1. Log in to your institute’s IIC account.
2. Go to “Innovation & Start-up Support” > “MIC YUKTI Innovation Challenge 2025”.
3. Under “Manage Challenges”, head to “Nominate Challenges”.
4. Select and review your entries.
5. Need to change one? Use the “Remove Nomination” option.

⚠️ Fixing Account Mismatches & Encouraging Registration

If a submission isn’t linked to the correct innovator’s account, institutions can correct it using the ‘Invite & Corrective Actions’ tool.

Pro Tip: Institutions can proactively register innovators using their name, email, and project details, then follow up to ensure they activate their accounts and update submissions.

🔄 Upgrading Ideas Before Nomination

Innovators need to ensure that their project status is current. If your project has progressed from Idea/PoC (TRL 1–3) to Innovation/Prototype (TRL 4+), log in and upgrade it on the YUKTI portal before your institution nominates you.

🛠️ Submission & Verification Process

For Institutions:

• Invite innovators using your institute’s YIR registration link.
• Ensure two-step verification:
  • Verify the innovator’s institutional affiliation.
  • Assign three verifiers to assess and recommend the innovation.

For Innovators:

• Register and log in to the YUKTI portal.
• Submit your innovation under the correct category.
• If upgrading from an idea to an innovation, complete the upgrade steps and request re-verification.
• Coordinate with your IIC contact for timely verification and nomination.

🗓️ YIC 2025 Timeline at a Glance

Whether you’re a student innovator or part of an institution nurturing talent, YUKTI Innovation Challenge 2025 is your chance to contribute to India’s innovation story. Let’s build the next wave of changemakers — one idea at a time.

Have questions? Talk to your IIC coordinator or visit the YUKTI Portal.