The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) - India was set up by the Department of Science &Technology (DST) in February 2000. The primary objectives are:
- To help India become innovative and creative, and to become a global leader in sustainable technologies by scouting, spawning and sustaining grassroots innovations.
- To ensure evolution and diffusion of green grassroots innovation on a selective, time-bound and mission-oriented basis so as to meet the socioeconomic and environmental needs of our society.
- To provide institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations as well as outstanding traditional knowledge and helping their transition to self-supporting activities
- To seek self-reliance through competitive advantage of innovation-based enterprises and/or application of "people-generated sustainable technologies" at grassroots level
- To build linkage between excellence in formal scientific systems and informal knowledge systems and create a knowledge network to link various stakeholders through application of Information Technology (IT) and other means
- To promote wider social awareness and possible applications of the know-how generated as a result of these initiatives in commercial or social spheres and encourage its incorporation in educational curriculum, developmental policies and programs