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Many students have an idea for a gadget that would fix a small, everyday problem: a bag that turns into a seat, a tool that makes a farm job easier. INSPIRE-MANAK is the government scheme that turns such ideas into nominations, money for a model and a place at an exhibition. This post explains who can enter, how nomination works, what happens after selection and how to write a summary that a reviewer can understand.
What is INSPIRE-MANAK?
The official INSPIRE-MANAK portal describes it as part of the INSPIRE scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), run with the National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF). MANAK stands for Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge. The scheme aims for one million original ideas rooted in science and societal applications, from students in Classes 6 to 12. It is separate from the INSPIRE scholarship for college students, which we cover in our post on INSPIRE-SHE eligibility.
Who can take part?
The scheme FAQs say entries are from individual students, not groups. Students must be in Classes 6 to 12 at a recognised school, government or private, under any national or state board. Ideas can be written in any of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Students do not apply directly. The school registers once on the E-MIAS portal and the principal nominates. In its letter opening nominations for 2026-27, DST says schools may nominate up to five ideas each financial year. The portal adds that no more than two of those five can come from Classes 11 or 12, and only from the science stream. The 2026-27 window opened on 15 July 2026, and the portal shows the deadline was later extended to 10 October 2026. Nominations for this year are now closed, so check the portal for next year's dates.
What happens after your school nominates you?
The FAQs set out a ladder of stages:
NIF shortlists up to 1,00,000 ideas.
Each shortlisted student receives an INSPIRE award of Rs 10,000 by direct benefit transfer to their bank account. It covers making the model and bringing it to the district exhibition.
District exhibitions pick about 10,000 ideas for state level.
State exhibitions pick about 1,000 for the national exhibition, with mentoring from NIF and partner institutions to build prototypes.
The top 60 are chosen for national awards and shown at the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Look at the numbers. Going from 1,00,000 to 10,000 to 1,000 keeps 1 in 10 at each step, and 60 out of 1,000 is 6 per cent. Most of the scheme's reach is in the first stage, which is the award and the district exhibition. In a written reply to Parliament, the minister said 49,805 students were supported under INSPIRE-MANAK in 2025-26.
What kind of idea gets noticed?
The FAQs list the selection criteria: novelty, social applicability, environment friendliness, user friendliness and comparative advantage over similar existing technologies. They also list ideas that are not encouraged because they are common textbook projects. These include rainwater harvesting, burglar, gas and fire alarms, vermicompost, drip irrigation, automatic street lights, readymade sensor kits, solar-to-electricity models, water-cycle and food-chain models, and essays.
The FAQs are clear about who owns the idea. Parents or teachers may suggest a problem, or help turn the child's idea into a model, but they should not suggest the idea itself.
How do you write the title and summary?
The FAQs ask for a specific title, such as "An assistive walking aid for the elderly", not a broad theme like "Agriculture" or "Digital India". The summary should say three things: what the idea is, what problem it solves and what its advantage is.
Here is the FAQs' own example, shortened. Title: "Travelling bag with folding seats". Problem: travellers often stand while waiting because stations have few seats. Idea: a bag with a seat that unfolds. Advantage: you can sit while you wait, which helps elderly travellers in particular. Notice how short and concrete it is.
A four-week plan for a student
Week 1: notice problems. Keep a notebook. Each day, write down one small difficulty you see at home, at school, on the road or on a farm. Ask people what slows them down.
Week 2: choose and check. Pick two problems. For each, look for existing products and check the scheme's winners lists, so you know your idea is new.
Week 3: understand the science. Work out which principle your idea relies on: levers, friction, pressure, heat flow or circuits. If the physics behind it is shaky, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you can explain your idea with confidence.
Week 4: write it up. Draft the title and the three-part summary. Add a rough sketch or photo if you have one, since the FAQs say these help reviewers.
If you also enjoy exam-style science, our guide to the junior science olympiad (NSEJS) covers another route.
This week, start your problem notebook and write down one everyday difficulty each day.
