DST-TDB – CDTI CALL FOR PROPOSALS UNDER THE INDIA – SPAIN PROGRAMME OF COOPERATION ON INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
On January 30th 2013, a Joint Programme for Co-operation was established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST; Ministry of Science and Technology, India) and the Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation, E.P.E. (CDTI), to promote and fund market-driven research and technology development as well as to encourage partnerships and business-Ied R&D&I collaborative projects between entities from both countries. Within this Programme, CDTI and DST-Technology Development Board (TDB) agreed to launch joint calls for proposals.
This call for proposals aims to launch ambitious joint R&D projects of a high international standard between Indian and Spanish organizations. Potential projects will be funded by DST through TDB in India and CDTI in Spain.
CALL GUIDELINES:
1) NODAL IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES
Technology Development Board (TDB) on behalf of the DST, Government of India and the Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI), Ministry of Science and Innovation, Government of Spain, are the nodal implementing agencies from the Indian and Spanish sides, respectively.
Technology Development Board (TDB) is a statutory body established by the Government of India under Technology Development Board Act, 1995, to promote development and commercialization of indigenous technology and adaptation of imported technology for much wider application.
CDTI is a Public Entity under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Government of Spain, which fosters the technological development and innovation of Spanish Companies.
2) THEMATIC AREAS
This Call for proposals is open to collaborative R&D projects in the following areas/sectors:
- Circular economy and sustainability: Economically competitive production processes and products, critical materials and/or energy that reduce, replace and/or reuse resources and/or aim for sustainability and environmentally friendly processes and/or technologies. Also including Drinking Water, Water Purification, Water Desalination, Irrigation Technologies and Waste Water Treatment & Management in the subarea of Water Technologies.
- Digital transformation (Smart Mobility, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, etc.).
- Digital health and medical devices: include categories such as mobile health (mHealth), health information technology (IT), wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine.
- Agro & Food Technologies: Competitive and sustainable technologies and applications to improve agriculture, aquaculture and food production, the supply chain, including cold engineering/cold chain technology, distribution channels until the end consumers and looping cycle/end of life (food safety, farming and food processing technologies, processing and packaging technologies).
- Any other sector of mutual interest.
3) TYPE OF PROPOSALS
Industry-driven and market-oriented R&D projects, joint technological co-operation projects between for-profit companies that operate and are headquartered in India and industrial partners (start-ups, SMEs and large companies), in Spain consisting in the development of new or substantial improvement of new products, processes or services will be considered.
The product, process or service must be innovative and there must be a technological risk involved.
The project should have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the technological cooperation between the participants from the different countries (e.g. increased knowledge base, commercial leads, access to R&D infrastructure etc.).
The project must have a civilian purpose.
The project must be significant for all project partners in a well-balanced consortium.
Duration of projects: 2 years.
The proposals have to cover the thematic areas mentioned in point 2 to enhance bilateral co-operation and develop new partnerships as well as strengthen existing ones.
4) TIMETABLE
- Launch of Call for Proposals: 25 September 2023
- Deadline for Submission of completed applications: 23 February 2024 (18:30 IST – 15:00 CET)
- Eligibility feedback to applicants: 1 March 2024
- Label concession/announcement of awarded projects (estimated): July 2024
5) WHO CAN APPLY?
Eligible Spanish Applicants
Spanish consortia should include at least one company. Participation of research institutes/universities and other organizations is welcome as self-funded participants or subcontractors.
Eligible Indian Applicants
Eligible Indian applicants must be a commercial (for profit) company registered under The Companies Act 1956/2013, which operates in and is headquartered in India. Academic institutions and research centres, (including non-profit research institutes recognized by DST) that are headquartered and operate in India are strongly encouraged to partner for projects.
Specific criteria for eligible applicants are as follows:
- The Indian Project Lead (IPL) company applying for the project must be incorporated in India under The Companies Act 1956/2013.
- The company must be at least 51% owned by Indian citizens over the total duration of the project.
- The IPL should have the required expertise and team capacity to manage the proposed project.
- Applicants already possesses basic infrastructures/test beds and developed basic Proof of Concept (PoC)
Please note for Indian applicants:
- Sole proprietors and partnership firms are not eligible for support under this programme.
- Companies headquartered and owned outside India and their subsidiaries in India, or vice versa, are not eligible to receive funding from DST-TDB under this programme.
- Further multiple projects being executed concurrently by the IPL under DST/TDB programmes will be discouraged.
Preferences will be given to:
- Indian companies having partnership with government-funded Indian academic and R&D institutions.
- Indian companies having in-house R&D Centre which is recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India. For details, please refer to and contact: http://www.dsir.gov.in
- Companies that fall under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) category, as defined by the Government of India. For definition of MSME, please refer to http://www.dcmsme.gov.in/ssiindia/defination_msme.htm
In the case of India where business entities are participants in a project, but without prior R&D activities, the project must show a plan of how capabilities are going to be developed in the business entity in the following years in order to:
- Perform future R&D projects.
- Develop the human resource capability within the business.
- Take technologies that are being developed to market.
- Develop new intellectual property.
- Enhance the Indian technology-based companies’ ecosystem.
- Note that applicants must already possess basic infrastructure/test beds and developed basic Proof of Concept (PoC).
6) HOW TO APPLY?
For First stage – “Common International phase”:
Joint R&D&I proposals must be submitted to CDTI and TDB, by the 23 February 2024 (18:30 IST – 15:00 CET) in order to consider the eligibility. Unilaterally submitted proposals shall not be considered.
In India, the participants will have to submit a formal and online application to (http://tdb.gov.in/).
In Spain the participants will have to submit a formal R&D international project application through CDT’s website (https://sede.cdti.gob.es/)
Documents:
- Indian and Spanish co-applicants must elaborate a single project proposal application (Annex 1 – Application Form). The Bilateral Co-operation form must emphasize how the proposed collaboration adds value, main technology highlights and innovations, activities to be developed by the Parties involved underlining the collaborative work being carried out on each side, their expertise, etc.
Please note that this Application Form must be sealed and signed by all co-applicants at the end of the document, expressly indicating name and designation of the authorized signatory in the organisation. Any other relevant information not expressly mentioned on the form and that the applicants consider relevant may be included as Annexes.
- In addition to the Application Form, co-applicants have to submit the following documents as relevant appendices:
- Consortium Agreement in English whereby the co-applicants should agree upon the ownership, access rights and exploitation of intellectual property generated during the co-operation, to be submitted to CDTI and TDB. The Consortium Agreement needs to be sealed and signed by all co-applicants.
- Additional specific documents required by TDB
- Additional specific documents required by CDTI
For Second Stage – “National level”
Only those proposals which have positive eligibility by qualifying the first stage, as mentioned above, by CDTI and TDB will be considered for submission of the individual R&D&I proposal in their own language as specified by each agency i.e.
- The funding Proposal is required to be submitted in English to TDB.
- The funding Proposal in Spanish required by CDTI:
On the Spanish side, only industrial partners, individually, are able to summit the funding proposal and other required documents through the electronic services at https://sede.cdti.gob.es/. Application must be submitted within 20 working days after receiving the notification of eligibility.
The complete details of the Call are available on TDB’s and CDTI’s websites: http://tdb.gov.in/ and http://www.cdti.es
Applicants are recommended to contact the nodal representatives at their national funding organizations whose contact details are given below:
SPAIN
Unit of Foreign Technological Action
CDTI-E.P.E. – Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial
Unit of Foreign Technological Action
Phone: +34 91 91 581 56 07 /04 89 (Spain)
E-mail: india[at]cdti[dot]es
INDIA
Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India
Dr Jyoti Sharma
Scientist F/ Director
Department of Science and Technology
Email: sharma[dot]jyoti[at]nic[dot]in
Technology Development Board (TDB)
Dr Tripti Johri
Project Coordinator
Technology Development Board (TDB), GOI
Please contact for call related queries:
Email: Indo-spain[at]tdb[dot]gov[dot]in
Phone: 011-26511184
7) ELIGIBLE COSTS AND FUNDING
The project must clearly specify the costs of each and all the activities pertaining to the project and specify the costs to be borne by the Indian and Spanish partners, respectively. The cost of the Indian and Spanish partners must be eligible under the laws that may be applicable in each country and under internal regulations of CDTI and TDB, respectively.
The funding conditions from DST/TDB are set in INR (₹) and the ones from CDTI in €. Budgets must be expressed in the local currency of each applicant. All figures and budgetary conditions in this Call refer to the value of both currencies as on the date of the launch of the Call.
None of the countries budget (namely the budget of its entities participating in the proposal) can have more than 70% of the global budget.
The Spanish company will be funded according to the International Technological Cooperation Projects’ conditions identified on CDTI’s website. CDTI can only provide funding to Spanish companies subject to budget availability.
TDB, on behalf of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, will fund the successful projects by Indian Company(s), with under-mentioned details:
- Total project funding as “Grant” for Indian applicants is up to 50% with a limit of maximum of ₹150.00 lakhs per project.
- Indian industry may receive up to 50% of their part of the eligible cost on reimbursement basis, for cost(s) already incurred on a proportionate basis during the project implementation period after sanction of grant to the project. Indian R&D organisation/academic institution may receive up to 100% of their costs (within applicable range specified above and as per proposal)
- DST funding support for the project must be matched equally (1:1) by Indian Industry and R&D organisation/academic institution. The exact amount of funding will be approved by the Indian Project Evaluation Committee based on merit and the contribution of industry, R&D organisation and academic partners respectively.
- Funding from other public sector sources will be taken into account when awarding soft loan, and applicants will be asked to declare funding from other sources in the application.
8) REVIEW PROCESS AND EVALUATION
Projects first will be evaluated at the national level according to the following criteria:
- Technology maturity stage / proof of concept
- Technical Capability (team, infrastructure etc.)
- Ability to deliver/complete the project
- Financial Capability/Health of the project
- Project Balance in terms of costs and efforts between partners
- Commercialisation Capability.
- Novelty of Product / Technology
- Novelty of process / functionality /integration/service
- Potential of Business and Commercialization success with reference to Target Market
- Expected economic results from the accomplishment of the project.
All received proposals are peer reviewed and processed independently by both sides. After having received the recommendations of the respective evaluation panels, TDB and CDTI will jointly arrive at a mutual understanding on the projects to be funded.
9) EVALUATION CRITERIA
The evaluation criteria are the following:
Significant Criteria
- Financial capacity of Partner
- Formal Agreement between Partners
Basic Assessment Criteria
Partnership and Partners
- Well balanced partnership
- Added Value through co-operation
- Technology Capacity of all Partners
- Managerial Capacity of all Partners
Project Structure
- Methodology and Planning Approach
- Milestones and deliverables
- Cost and financing structure
- Financing commitment of each Partner
Technology and Innovation
Technological Advance
- Degree of technological maturity and risk
- Technological Achievements
Innovation
- Degree of innovation
- Geographical / sector impact
Market and Competitiveness
Market and profitability
- Market size
- Market access and risk
- Return on investment
Competitive advantages
- Strategic importance of the project
- Enhanced capabilities and visibility
10) FUNDING DECISIONS
DST/TDB and CDTI will, after having formed their mutual understanding on the projects to be funded, make their funding decisions according to their normal procedures and rules and on a non-exchange of funds basis. CDTI and TDB will inform the beneficiaries about the funding decisions according to their normal practice.
11) REPORTING AND PROJECT OUTPUT
Funding granted by DST-TDB and CDTI will be governed by the general terms and conditions of each funding organisation, respectively. Both parties will carry out an international follow-up until the completion of the projects and inform the counterpart about the success or failure of the international cooperation at the end of the project.
If required, each participant should submit financial and technical reports to their national funding organisations, according to national regulations. The progress and final results of each individual contract/letter of grant will be monitored by the respective national funding organisations.
