Fee and refund policy
Before you pay, please read this
The programme fee is non-refundable. It pays for nine weeks of teaching, mentor reviews and materials, which start on day one. The fee is not a deposit against the grant, and paying it does not entitle you to a grant. Grants are awarded only at the final pitch stage, on the published rubric, at the jury decision.
What the fee pays for
The programme fee buys nine weeks of teaching, mentor reviews and materials. It is a fee for a service that begins immediately on the cohort start date. It is not a deposit, an application fee assessed against your chances, or an advance against a grant.
| Track | Fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Track A · Student and solo founder | ₹999 | Nine weeks of sessions, two mentor reviews, idea validation, guided company registration support, startup recognition guidance. |
| Track B · Registered startup | ₹3,999 | Everything above, plus data room verification, compliance review, cap table review and three additional mentor sessions. |
Both fees are inclusive of GST at 18.00%. A tax invoice is issued on payment.
Why there are no refunds, and why that is fair
We screen eligibility before you pay. The eligibility questions are answered first, and if you do not meet the criteria for a cohort you are never shown a payment page at all. That is deliberate: it means we never take money from someone we are going to turn away.
Because of that, once payment is made the fee is non-refundable. The nine weeks of teaching begin on the published start date whether or not a participant attends, and live sessions are recorded so a missed session is never a missed module.
The narrow exceptions
We will refund in full in two situations, because in both the fault is ours:
- We cancel the cohort. If a cohort does not run, every fee paid for it is returned in full.
- A duplicate or erroneous charge. If you are charged twice for the same registration, the extra charge is returned in full.
Refunds under these two heads are processed to the original payment method within 7 working days of the decision. Write to trust@bharatstartupgrant.org with your reference number.
If your payment fails
If a payment is attempted but not captured, no amount is charged and no registration is created. If money has left your account but your dashboard does not show the registration within 48 hours, write to trust@bharatstartupgrant.org with the payment reference from your bank and we will reconcile it.
Grant disbursal is separate from the fee
Grants are decided at the final pitch and paid to a registered company bank account, never to an individual. Disbursal takes up to three months from the results date. Taxes apply as per Indian law and any deduction at source will be made as required.
Last updated 25 Jul 2026. Questions: trust@bharatstartupgrant.org