Call For Proposal

Biotechnological research and development in India is largely carried out by academic institutions (universities/research organizations) and to some extent by industry (mostly large companies). By virtue of their strong infrastructure & technical capability academic/ research establishments are mandated to research on variety of problems of national importance and societal relevance. Also, unlike industry, research by academia is not governed by commercial gains alone thus allowing them to work on problems involving even high degree of risk.

To encourage/support academia to develop technology/product (up to PoC stage) of societal/ national importance and its subsequent validation by an industrial partner, BIRAC has launched PACE (Promoting Academic Research Conversion to Enterprise).  

The scheme has two components as below:

1. Academic Innovation Research (AIR): 

The objective of Academic Innovation Research (AIR) scheme is to promote development of Proof-of-concept (PoC) for a process/product by academia with or without the involvement of industry 

2.Contract Research Scheme (CRS):

Contract Research Scheme (CRS) aims at validation of a process or prototype (developed by the academia) by the industrial partner

Healthcare

• HPV related diseases

  • Development of cost effective, validated tests (as per international standards) for screening/ early detection of HPV types (focus on types other than HPV 16/18)
  • Vaccine surveillance, sero-surveillance and infection monitoring tests that would be easy to deploy in population settings such as lateral flow devices
  • Diagnostics- tests that can demonstrate viral activity/functionality, possibly persistence and oncogenicity (focus to be on types other than HPV16/18)

• TB

  • TB vaccines (including therapeutic vaccines)
  • Drugs that can decrease duration of standard TB drug treatment
  • Drugs for treatment of XDR and MDR TB (both lung and extra – pulmonary TB)
  • Aerosol model in Guinea Pig and other tissue specific models
  • Host mediated therapies, adjunct therapies and phage therapy
  • Drugs for Opportunistic mycobacteria
  • Designing novel clinical trials for short duration therapy- bio markers
• Malaria

   

  • Alternative to Artemisinin (ART) Derivatives
  • Adjunct drug to ART to treat Cerebral Malaria
  • Vaccines for malaria

• Other Areas:

  • Diagnostics based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for detection of TB, malaria and other diseases, management of chronic conditions, delivery of health services and drug discovery
  • Quick diagnostics and treatment (including vaccines) for SARS-2 variants and seasonal viral infections
  • Diagnostics, drugs, therapeutics and vaccines for Neglected and rare diseases
  • Medtech interventions to address challenges of healthcare system at Primary, Secondary and Tertiary level
  • Regenerative Medicines

Energy, Environment and Secondary Agriculture

• Carbon capture and utilization using algae and other biotechnological means for producing value-added products
• Production of highly efficient cellulase enzyme composition and its technoeconomic analysis
• Valorization of lignin to value added chemicals for reducing cost of 2G ethanol
• Use of synthetic biology techniques for:
  • conversion of lignocellulosic sugars into chemicals and materials
  • Production of advanced biofuels (e.g., butanol, isobutanol, alkane, alkene, terpenes) and cosmetics/nutraceuticals/flavour compound (e.g., fatty alcohols, paraffin, carotene, vanillin, saffron etc.)
• Novel way of engineering microbes for simultaneous C5/C6 fermentation
• Technologies to treat waste (solid, liquid and gaseous) to generate fuel, energy, recycle materials and useful products such as food, feed, polymers, chemicals, etc through biotechnological interventions
• Technologies (including IT-based) for better storage, grading, packaging, storing and quality control of agricultural/horticultural produce (including organic produce), marine, dairy and poultry to reduce economic losses and value addition
• Post-harvest value addition of millets including:
  • Improvements in de-hulling efficiency and separation
  • Improvement in shelf-life and packaging of millet-based products
  • Innovative millet-based products

Agriculture

• Authentic data collection from the fields using satellite imaging, image-recognition software, IoT, drones (“Kisan drones”) and machine learning, followed by its monitoring and analysis by AI-based applications for crop selection, pest control, precision farming, analyse soil quality, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients, crop assessment, predicting crop losses, estimating yields and economic gains, and information dissemination to farmers
• Technologies for enhancing water use efficiency (Smart irrigation), energy efficient equipment, soil health management, organic value chain development, innovations in biofertilizers and biopesticides
• Farm mechanization
• Technologies contributing to boost production of oilseeds and pulses

Veterinary Sciences and Aquaculture

• New Therapeutics for Lumpy skin disease, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), and Brucellosis.
• Development or validation of assays/kits for use in multiple species for brucellosis and to differentiate infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA) in FMD and brucellosis
• Point of care diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for disease management in livestock and aquaculture
• Technologies for animal reproduction
• Advanced technologies based on artificial intelligence and biosensors for automated monitoring of fish production/farming
• Bioactive compounds from marine actinobacteria

The proposals can be submitted under PACE scheme of BIRAC.

The scheme has two components as below:

1. Academic Innovation Research (AIR):

The objective of Academic Innovation Research (AIR) scheme is to promote development of Proof-of-concept (PoC) for a process/product by academia with or without the involvement of industry 

Eligibility Criteria for Academic Innovation Research (AIR):

1. Types of projects to be supported :

Projects with well-established proof-of-principle leading to development of prototype of a product /technology of national relevance or commercial potential

(Basic/exploratory research, projects without well-established Proof of principle or   with no or low commercial potential will not be supported)

1. Duration of project :  up to 24 months (BIRAC’s Technical Expert Committee at its discretion may recommend for increased duration of the project depending upon the nature of the research study)                   
2. Funding Support (Grant): Total cost of the project must not exceed Rs. 50 lakhs (Non-recurring cost must not exceed 10% of the total cost)
3. IPR :        IP rights may be with academia alone, or jointly shared between academia and industry (if academia establishes PoC with industry) as per the understanding between the two partners   

B.      Contract Research Scheme (CRS):

Contract Research Scheme (CRS) aims at validation of a process or prototype (developed by the academia) by the industrial partner

Eligibility Criteria for Contract Research Scheme (CRS):

1. Academia must have an established Proof-of-Concept (PoC) as evident by scientific data ready for validation by the industry in contract research mode

       2.  Duration of the project : No time limit

1. Funding Support (Grant):  Funding in the form of grant is provided to both academic as well as industrial partners. While funding is provided to the academia for In-House research which forms a part of validation of the Proof of Concept, funds are provided to the industrial partner for validation. There is no ceiling to the funding 
2. IPR :  Although the IP rights reside with the academia, the industry partner has first right of refusal for commercial exploitation of the New IP

View RFP

Proposals are required to be submitted online only. For submission of proposals, applicants need to register with BIRAC through “User Registration”. Additional information on user registration and proposal submission are available online at BIRAC website at www.birac.nic.in.

No Hard Copy to be submitted. Proposals submitted online only would be considered.

Last date for Submission of Proposals:    30th November 2022 5:30 p.m.

BIRAC will ensure maintenance of strict confidentiality of the proposals as per DBT norms.

For any queries, please contact:

Head – Investment: investment.birac@gov.in

Announcement Date: 15-10-2022
Last Submission Date: 30-11-2022 05:30 PM