MyGov BIRAC-Innovation Challenge Award

BIRAC-SoCH is an Innovation Challenge Award aimed at propelling the Indian innovators towards combating the challenges of community health sector. SoCH award is highly focused and directed towards achieving a clear bold and audacious goal, pushing the boundaries of human imagination and expertise by focusing on issues currently held to be untraceable or that has no clear solution.

India presently is plagued with concerns of maternal and child health, mental disorders, sanitation, potable water availability, healthcare, nutrition, soil fertility, energy and huge waste generation which in broader sense are classified under community health issues. Community health problems need to be addressed with immediate effect in order to realize the goals set in Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by the UN. It is towards realizing this end that BIRAC has come up with SoCH. ‘SoCH’ in Hindi means ‘thought’; indicating the fact that SoCH is oriented towards motivating the scientific thinkers and innovators to come up with solutions for community health.

SoCH is designed to offer recognition and financial support to technology innovators and entrepreneurs who have been working in the community health sector and/or facilitate a promising technology idea that can be converted into a handy technology addressing the issues of community health in a defined time limit.

Themes for SoCH 2017-18

i. Platform technologies for reducing the burden of Diseases (Communicable and Non-communicable diseases)

ii. Sanitation and Waste Recycling

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Individuals and Companies

For Individuals

• The applicant must be an Indian citizen.
• The primary applicant should be the Project Leader who meets the eligibility requirements mentioned below.
• If the applicant is formally employed (or registered as a student) with a non-profit academic or research organization, then the applicant has to produce a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the head of the organization clearly indicating that the organization has policies in place to allow the applicant to accept the award (if successful) as an individual and has policies in place to allow its employees creation of technology products while in service or while in sabbatical leave or while in EOL.
• If the applicant is formally employed with a for-profit company, the applicant has to provide an No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the head of the organization clearly indicating that the organization has policies in place to allow the applicant to accept the award (if successful) as an individual and has policies in place to allow its employees creation of technology products while in service or while in sabbatical leave or while in EOL. Alternatively, the applicant needs to apply as Company.
• An individual who is a promoter shareholder of any company or one of the partners in any LLP will not be allowed to apply as an individual, irrespective of the percentage of shareholding of the applicant in the company. (In such a case, the application can be submitted through company/LLP route, in case the company/LLP meets the required eligibility criterion as detailed below)

Essential Qualification

Project leader

Every proposal must clearly identify a Project Leader who will take responsibility for the technical and managerial aspects of the project execution. The Project Leader must be technically qualified to undertake the project. The Project Leader must have completed basic undergraduate training in natural sciences/engineering/ medicine.

In the event that the proposal is shortlisted for Ideathon/ Hackathon in front of the Expert Selection Committee, then the same Project Leader will be required to present the case for support. In the event that proposal is shortlisted for funding support, then the Project Leader will be required to sign the project agreement.

APPLICATION PROCESS

• BIRAC will launch SoCH on 22nd September 2017 on MyGov.
• The call for proposal will close on 31st October 2017 at 11:59pm.
• The applicant needs to submit an online application for the grant of the award by registering and logging-on MyGov. Please note that applications are accepted online only.
• Applicants are advised to fill-up and submit their applications early without waiting for the last date in order to avoid any last minute contingencies. The system stops accepting applications automatically at midnight of the last date of receipt of application..
• Applicants are advised to provide sufficient details in their applications to allow for an informed and fair evaluation/review. Applicants are advised to provide self-contained proposals with essential supporting materials provided as uploads.
• Proposal once submitted are final. No changes will be accepted thereafter.
• Providing incorrect information will lead to outright rejection of proposals.

SELECTION PROCESS

• As a first step, selection committee in BIRAC will screen the applications for eligibility and appropriateness under SoCH scheme.
• Eligible proposals are categorized into two categories: Those who apply under the theme “Platform technologies for reducing the burden of Diseases (Communicable and Non-communicable diseases)” will go through Hackathon track and those who apply under the theme “Sanitation and Waste Recycling” will be selected for Ideathon.
• Those shortlisted for Hackathon will be invited to participate in BIRAC-SoCH Hackathon and will be assessed by the designated experts.
• Ideathon proposals will be invited for presentation in person and the selection committee in BIRAC will assess the merit of the proposal.
• Due diligence reports by the experts are then examined by BIRAC selection committee, subsequent to which proposal is finally approved for the grant of the award.
• If for any reason the team decides to discontinue the project in the first 6 months, then all of the unutilized fund should be returned to BIRAC with immediate effect.

AWARD REMUNERATION

Funding support would be in the form of Grant-in-aid. Post selection of winners from both the categories, the award money will be disbursed as per the following scheme:

Scheme	When	Amount
Hackathon Track	Selection of 5 grantees from Hackathon competition	15 lakh each
	Final Hackathon winner	50 lakh
Ideathon Track	Selection of 5 grantees from Ideathon competition	15 lakh each
	Final Ideathon winner	50 lakh

IMPORTANT DATES

Proposal submission opens: 22nd September 2017

Last date for submission: 31st October 2017

Evaluation and shortlisting of applications: Tentatively December, 2017

Presentation of Shortlisted idea for Ideathon: Tentatively by December 2017 or January 2018

On-Ground Hackathon: Tentatively by December 2017 or January 2018

Declaration of Grantees: 5 best candidates each from both the categories will be shortlisted and granted 15 lakh each for the development of Minimum Viable Prototype (MVP) for a period of six months (Tentatively by March 2018)

1 winner each from Hackathon and Ideathon will be selected and awarded a prize money of 50 lakh.

For further information visit MyGov.in