Samay Sarthi — Master Opportunities Playbook

Team: Samay Sarthi (समय सारथी) Product: Emergency healthcare coordination platform (AI powered) Stack: Flutter + Spring Boot + PostgreSQL/PostGIS + WebSocket + Claude AI Status: Working prototype, end to end flow functional Validation: AIIMS Jodhpur Emergency Head, IPS Deputy Commissioner (Bengaluru), ambulance drivers Last Updated: March 1, 2026

For detailed breakdowns see:

• india_funding_opportunities_2026.md (VC, angels, grants, incubators, state schemes)
• international_opportunities_2026.md (global hackathons, grants, accelerators, fellowships)

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STEP ZERO: Do These First (prerequisites that unlock everything)

What	Why	Time	Status
Get DPIIT Startup India Recognition	Unlocks tax exemption, SISFS, AWS/Azure credits, gov tender access	1-2 weeks	[ ]
Register on ABDM Sandbox	Positions you inside India's national health infra. Pull patient records via ABHA ID.	1 week	[ ]
Apply to Microsoft for Startups	$150K Azure credits, GitHub Enterprise, no equity, instant	10 min	[ ]
Apply to AWS Activate	Up to $100K credits ($300K for AI startups)	30 min	[ ]
Apply to Google Cloud for Startups	Up to $350K credits (AI track) + $600/mo Maps credits	30 min	[ ]
Sign up on Secret.dev, F6S, FounderPass	Unlocks $500K+ in combined startup deals	20 min	[ ]
Join MAARG portal (Startup India mentorship)	Free mentor matching from government database	15 min	[ ]

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PART 1: HACKATHONS

This Week (DO NOW)

Hackathon	Deadline	Domain	Prize	Action
India Innovates 2026	PPT by Mar 10, Finale Mar 28	Open Innovation (Healthcare)	10 lakh pool	Already registered. Build PPT.
Global Citizens SDGs Challenge	Mar 1 (TODAY)	SDG 3 Health + SDG 11 Cities	Incubator access	Register NOW at sdgschallenge.org
FOSS Hack 2026	All of March	Open source healthcare	Up to 5 lakh	Open source part of Samay Sarthi, submit at fossunited.org

This Month (March)

Hackathon	Deadline	Domain	Prize	URL
Hack4Innovation (VESIT Mumbai)	PPT by Mar 5, Finals Mar 28-29	Open innovation	TBD	unstop.com
ISB HackFest 2026	Mar 5-6	"Reimagining Healthcare"	TBD	i-venture.org
IHH Catalyst (Fortis Healthcare)	Selected teams Mar 25	Healthcare innovation	3 month pilot in Fortis hospitals	Apply ASAP
ET GenAI Hackathon	March	AI innovation	10 lakh	economictimes.com

April - June

Hackathon	When	Domain	Prize
HSIL Hackathon (Harvard + IIT Patna)	Apr 10-11	AI for Health Systems	Global stage + venture bootcamp
Google Solution Challenge 2026	Mar-Apr submissions	SDG 3 + SDG 11	$3,000 per top 10 team
Rajasthan Digifest x TiE Global	TBD	Has "ambulance optimization" challenge	Cash + incubation
Solvathon 2026 (IIIT-H + Apollo)	TBD	Healthcare AI	TBD
Eureka! IIT Bombay	TBD	Business plan competition	$100K+ prizes
Conquest BITS Pilani	TBD	Startup accelerator (zero equity)	Acceleration + funding

Big Ones (Second Half 2026)

Hackathon	When	Why It Matters
Smart India Hackathon 2026	Reg ~Sep, Finale ~Dec	Government of India flagship. MoHFW and MoRTH post problem statements that literally describe what we do. THE most important one.
Safer India Hackathon (MoRTH + MyGov)	Watch MyGov	Asks for "post-accident emergency care and ambulance process improvement." Made for us.
IndiaAI Innovation Challenge	Next edition TBD	MeitY backed. Up to 25 lakh + 1 crore work contract.
Smart Horizon International (Bangalore)	Sep 3-5	Health-tech + Smart Cities. Travel reimbursement.
Microsoft Imagine Cup 2026	TBD	Global student competition. Health track.
Hult Prize 2026	TBD	$1M prize. Social enterprise.

International Hackathons (Remote Friendly)

Hackathon	When	What
MIT Hacking Medicine GrandHack	Mar 13-15 (Boston, in person)	Healthcare hackathon at MIT
Call for Code (IBM + Linux Foundation)	TBD 2026	Global challenge, health + climate
Junction Helsinki	~Nov	Europe's biggest hackathon, travel grants available
MedHacks (Johns Hopkins)	~Fall 2026	Medical hackathon, remote track possible
MLH Season 2026	Ongoing	200+ events with healthcare/social good tracks

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PART 2: GOVERNMENT GRANTS & SCHEMES (India)

Non Dilutive Money (Grants, No Equity Taken)

Scheme	Amount	Who	Deadline
BIRAC-RDI Fund	From 2,000 crore corpus	DBT/BIRAC	March 31, 2026
BIRAC BIG (Biotechnology Ignition Grant)	Up to 50 lakh grant	DBT/BIRAC	Next call TBD (periodic)
MAHA MedTech Mission	5-25 crore per project (no equity)	ANRF + ICMR + Gates Foundation	TBD
Startup India Seed Fund (SISFS)	Up to 20 lakh grant, 50 lakh debt	DPIIT	Rolling via partner incubators
MeitY GENESIS	Up to 40 lakh	MeitY	Rolling
MeitY SAMRIDH	Up to 40 lakh + acceleration	MeitY	Rolling
MeitY TIDE 2.0	Through 51 incubation centers	MeitY	Rolling
NIDHI-PRAYAS (DST)	Up to 10 lakh for prototypes	DST	Through NIDHI incubators
NIDHI-SSP (Seed Support)	Seed funding	DST	Through partner incubators
NIDHI-EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence)	Subsistence grant	DST	Through incubators
CSIR PRISM	Up to 50 lakh for enterprise setup	CSIR	Rolling
ANIC 2.0 (Atal New India Challenge)	Up to 1 crore	AIM/NITI Aayog	When health challenge opens
ICMR MedTech Grants	Up to 4 crore	ICMR	Next call TBD
National Startup Awards	10 lakh + recognition	DPIIT	Annual
SERB SRG	Research grants	DST/SERB	Rolling

State Government Schemes

State	Scheme	Amount
Karnataka	ELEVATE NxT 2026	Up to 1 crore (deeptech)
Karnataka	ELEVATE	Up to 50 lakh grant
Rajasthan	iStart	2.4 lakh (pre-seed) to 5 crore (equity)
Telangana	T-Hub programs	Incubation + hospital access
Telangana	RICH (Research & Innovation Circle)	Healthcare industry bridge
Kerala	KSUM Innovation Grant	Up to 30 lakh
Tamil Nadu	TANSEED	Up to 10 lakh grant
Maharashtra	MSINS	Up to 10 lakh seed
Gujarat	iCreate	2-30 lakh (deadline Dec 31, 2026)
Delhi	Startup Policy 2025	200 crore VC fund, student grants up to 10 lakh
Andhra Pradesh	IDEA/Innovation grants	Varies

Strategic Government Programs (Not Grants, But Critical)

Program	What It Does	Why It Matters
ABDM Sandbox	Integration with national health ecosystem (859M ABHA accounts)	Positions us as national health infra, not just an app
PM RAHAT	Accident reporting to ambulance dispatch to hospital admission scheme	Needs exactly what we build. Position as technology partner.
Smart Cities Mission ICCCs	100 cities have command centers	B2G sales channel for ambulance tracking integration
SAMRIDH Healthcare (USAID)	Healthcare innovation scaling	US backed funding for health innovation in India

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PART 3: INCUBATORS & ACCELERATORS

Healthcare Focused (Highest Fit)

Incubator	What You Get	Why
AIIMS Delhi CMIE	BIRAC BioNEST incubator AT AIIMS	We have AIIMS Jodhpur validation. AIIMS Delhi incubation is the logical next step.
NSRCEL (IIM Bangalore)	Healthcare Incubation Program	Dedicated healthtech program. Contact: healthcare@nsrcel.iimb.ac.in
Villgro	India's top healthcare social enterprise incubator	340 enterprises, INR 4.28B raised by portfolio
Social Alpha	Quest for Healthcare program (Tata Trusts backed)	Seed funding + clinical validation + market access
Pfizer INDovation	60 lakh grant per startup, 18 month cohort	With Social Alpha + FITT IIT Delhi
IHH Catalyst (Fortis)	3 month program + pilot in Fortis hospitals	Direct hospital pilot opportunity
SAMRIDH Healthcare (USAID)	Health innovation scaling program	International credibility

IIT/IIM Incubators

Incubator	Special Angle
IIT Bombay SINE	250 crore deeptech VC fund. Healthcare explicit.
IIT Madras IITMIC	India's largest deeptech hub. 500+ startups, 53,000 crore combined valuation
IIT Delhi FITT	Industry-academia interface, Microsoft partnership
IIT Kanpur SIIC	Medtech and AI focus
IIM Ahmedabad CIIE.CO	Piramal Healthcare Prize
IIT Gandhinagar IIEC	Social impact tech

Tech Accelerators (No Equity)

Accelerator	What You Get	When
Google for Startups Accelerator India (AI First)	$350K cloud credits, mentorship, no equity	Apply for Jun-Sep 2026 cohort
Microsoft UNNATI AI Accelerator	Healthcare AI for Tier-II/III, with FITT IIT Delhi	TBD
Wadhwani Foundation	Zero equity, zero fees accelerators	Rolling
NASSCOM 10K Startups / DeepTech	Mentorship, industry connections, no equity	Rolling
Conquest BITS Pilani	India's largest non-diluting startup accelerator	Annual

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PART 4: FUNDING (VC, Angels, Impact)

Healthcare VCs (for when you are ready to raise)

Fund	Check Size	Why They Fit
W Health Ventures	$500K-3M (seed/early)	Early stage healthcare, "found and fund" model
HealthQuad (Fund III)	$2M-15M	India's largest healthcare VC. Portfolio: Qure.ai
HealthKois	From $400M fund	Healthcare investing
Endiya Partners	Seed/early	Deeptech health
Chiratae Sonic	Pre-seed (48 hour turnaround)	Quick seed program
Eximius Ventures	Pre-seed	Healthtech thesis

Angel Networks

Network	Where
Indian Angel Network (IAN)	Pan India, largest network
Mumbai Angels	Mumbai
Chennai Angels	Chennai
Hyderabad Angels	Hyderabad
Calcutta Angels	Kolkata
Lead Angels	Mumbai

Impact Investors

Fund	What	Check Size
Unitus Ventures	Healthcare as core sector	Early stage
Aavishkaar Capital	7th fund (Rs 2,000Cr) in 2026, healthcare focus	Growth
Acumen	Patient capital, Mumbai since 2001	$300K-2.5M
Elevar Equity	Healthcare portfolio (CureBay precedent)	$2-5M
Omidyar Network India	Emerging tech + governance	Growth

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PART 5: INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Grants (Equity Free Money)

Program	Amount	Deadline
UNICEF Venture Fund	$100K equity free	Watch for health/AI cohort
Gates Foundation Grand Challenges	Varies ($100K-3M)	Periodic calls
EVAH (Gates + Wellcome + Novo Nordisk)	Up to $1M-3M	Apr 1, 2026
Google.org AI for Social Good	$400K-2.5M	Periodic
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation	AI grants (from $75.8M pool)	Rolling
Elrha Humanitarian Innovation Fund	Varies	Periodic calls
Grand Challenges Canada	Varies	Periodic
USAID Development Innovation Ventures	Varies	Rolling

International Accelerators

Program	What	Equity
Y Combinator S26	$500K investment	Yes (7%)
Google for Startups (India)	Cloud credits + mentorship	No equity
500 Global	Seed investment	Yes
Plug and Play Health	Free, 500+ corporate partners	No equity, no relocation
Dreamit HealthTech	Investment + mentorship	No fixed equity, no relocation
StartUp Health	Health moonshot community	Membership
HAX (SOSV)	$250K-500K, office in Pune	Yes
MassChallenge HealthTech	Acceleration	No equity
Creative Destruction Lab (Health)	Mentorship + investment	Some equity
Seedstars (Emerging Markets)	Investment + acceleration	Yes
Bethnal Green Ventures	Social impact tech	Yes
Founders Factory x Northwestern Medicine	$150K + 16 weeks	Yes (deadline Mar 31)

Fellowships & Awards

Program	What	When
Ashoka Fellowship	Lifetime fellowship for system-changing social entrepreneurs	Rolling nominations
Echoing Green	$100K seed funding	Watch for 2027 cycle (opens Sep 2026)
MIT Solve	$40K+ average, health challenge	Opens Sep 2026
Schwab Foundation (WEF)	Global recognition, Davos access	Nomination based
Skoll Foundation	$2M unrestricted awards	Nomination based
Falling Walls	Science breakthroughs, Berlin summit	Deadline Apr 30, 2026
Forbes 30 Under 30 India	Recognition	Watch for 2027 nominations
NASSCOM Emerge 50	Deeptech awards	Annual
MIT Tech Review Innovators Under 35	India regional list	Annual
TIME Best Inventions	Global visibility	Early deadline Mar 6 ($575 entry)
Fast Company World Changing Ideas	Global visibility	Annual

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PART 6: FREE CREDITS & RESOURCES

Cloud Infrastructure (Total addressable: $800K-1.2M+)

Provider	Credits	How
Google Cloud (AI track)	Up to $350K	cloud.google.com/startup
AWS Activate	Up to $100K ($300K AI)	aws.amazon.com/activate
Microsoft for Startups	Up to $150K Azure	microsoft.com/startups
IBM Startup	Up to $120K	ibm.com/startups
DigitalOcean Hatch	Up to $100K	digitalocean.com/startups
Cloudflare	$5K-250K	cloudflare.com/forstartups
Supabase	Up to $25K (we already use it, reach out directly)	supabase.com/startups
MongoDB Atlas	Up to $5.5K	mongodb.com/startups
Redis Cloud	$10K	redis.io/startups
Oracle Cloud	$500 + 70% discount	oracle.com/startup

AI/ML Credits

Provider	Credits	How
Anthropic (Claude)	Up to $100K (needs VC partner referral)	claude.com/programs/startups
OpenAI Grove	$50K (cohort based)	openai.com/startups
Google Vertex AI	Included in Cloud AI track	cloud.google.com/startup/ai
Cohere	25% discount 12 months	cohere.com startups

Developer Tools (Free)

Tool	What You Get
GitHub Enterprise	20 seats free 12 months
GitLab Ultimate	20 licenses free 12 months
Auth0/Okta	Free 1 year, 100K MAU
Notion	Up to $12K credits
JetBrains	50% off all IDEs 5 years
Figma	50% off 6 months
HubSpot	Up to 90% off Year 1

Communication

Service	What
Google Maps Platform	$600/mo free 12 months (via Cloud for Startups)
Twilio.org Impact Access	$100 credit + discounts for social impact orgs
OneSignal	Free forever: unlimited mobile push
Firebase	Free Spark plan

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PART 7: THE CALENDAR

March 2026

Date	Action	Priority
Mar 1	Register Global Citizens SDGs Challenge	URGENT
Mar 1	Register FOSS Hack 2026	URGENT
Mar 1	Apply Microsoft for Startups	HIGH
Mar 1	Apply AWS Activate	HIGH
Mar 5	Submit PPT to Hack4Innovation (VESIT)	HIGH
Mar 6	TIME Best Inventions early deadline ($575)	OPTIONAL
Mar 10	Submit India Innovates 2026 PPT	CRITICAL
Mar 25	IHH Catalyst (Fortis) selections announced	HIGH
Mar 28	India Innovates Finale at Bharat Mandapam	CRITICAL
Mar 31	BIRAC-RDI Fund Phase 1 deadline	HIGH
Mar 31	Founders Factory x Northwestern Medicine deadline	MEDIUM
All month	Build AI Report + Voice to Vitals features	CRITICAL
All month	Get DPIIT Startup Recognition	HIGH

April 2026

Date	Action
Apr 1	EVAH (Gates/Wellcome) deadline
Apr 10-11	HSIL Hackathon (Harvard + IIT Patna)
Apr 19	Google for Startups Accelerator India deadline
Apr 30	Falling Walls Science Breakthrough deadline
Month	Apply to NSRCEL Healthcare Incubation
Month	Apply to AIIMS Delhi CMIE incubator
Month	Apply Karnataka ELEVATE NxT
Month	Register on ABDM Sandbox

May - June 2026

Action
Apply Startup India Seed Fund via partner incubator
Apply MeitY GENESIS / SAMRIDH
Apply NIDHI-PRAYAS through partner incubator
Apply Villgro / Social Alpha
Apply Google Cloud for Startups (AI track)
Apply Y Combinator S26 (~May deadline)
Prepare for Eureka! IIT Bombay
Prepare for Conquest BITS Pilani
Watch for SIH 2026 registration

July - December 2026

Action
Smart India Hackathon 2026 registration (~Sep)
MIT Solve application (opens Sep)
Echoing Green Fellowship 2027 cycle (opens Sep)
Smart Horizon International Hackathon (Sep 3-5)
Safer India Hackathon (watch MyGov)
IndiaAI Innovation Challenge next edition
ANIC 2.0 next health challenge
Forbes 30 Under 30 nominations

Always Open / Rolling

Program	Type
DPIIT Startup Recognition	Registration
SISFS (through incubators)	Grant
CSIR PRISM	Grant
BIRAC BIG	Grant (periodic calls)
iStart Rajasthan	State grant
MAARG Mentorship	Free mentors
Microsoft for Startups	Cloud credits
AWS Activate	Cloud credits
Angel networks (IAN, Mumbai Angels etc)	Investment

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PART 8: PLATFORMS TO CHECK WEEKLY

Set a reminder every Monday:

Platform	URL	What To Look For
Unstop	unstop.com/hackathons	Healthcare, Smart City, AI, Open Innovation
Devfolio	devfolio.co/hackathons	Tech hackathons with health tracks
Devpost	devpost.com/hackathons	International hackathons, remote friendly
HackerEarth	hackerearth.com/challenges	Corporate hackathons
MyGov Innovate	innovateindia.mygov.in	Government challenges
Hack2Skill	hack2skill.com	Indian hackathons
SIH Portal	sih.gov.in	Smart India Hackathon updates
F6S	f6s.com	Accelerator applications, grants
MLH	mlh.io	Season events with health tracks
startupgrantsindia.com	startupgrantsindia.com	Healthcare specific grants

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PART 9: THE PITCH (use everywhere)

One Liner

Samay Sarthi is an AI powered platform that coordinates ambulances, hospitals and traffic police in real time to save lives during the golden hour.

Three Liner

India has 45 million emergency admissions annually but 98.5% of ambulances arrive late because there is zero coordination between them and hospitals. Samay Sarthi connects the entire emergency ecosystem in real time. Ambulance drivers get AI hospital recommendations, hospitals get clinical intelligence reports before the patient arrives, and traffic police can clear routes for green corridors.

SDG Framing

Samay Sarthi addresses UN SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) by building real time coordination infrastructure for India's emergency healthcare system.

Validation Drop

Validated with the Emergency and Operations Head at AIIMS Jodhpur, IPS Deputy Commissioner of Electronic City (Bengaluru Traffic Police), and active ambulance operators. The AIIMS doctor confirmed that 10-15 minutes of advance notification could improve golden hour survival rates by 20-30%.

Tech Stack (for technical applications)

Flutter (mobile), Spring Boot (backend), PostgreSQL with PostGIS (geospatial), WebSocket/STOMP (real time), Claude AI (clinical intelligence reports, voice to vitals parsing), Google Maps (routing and navigation).