The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under its advanced technology scheme, Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP), has invited fresh proposals from biotech companies for providing support on a cost sharing basis for development of novel and high risk futuristic technologies mainly for viability gap funding and enhancing existing R&D capacities.
The interested biotech companies can apply for the proposal till November 30 this year.
Initiated under Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Programme (BIRAP), BIPP is a government partnership programme with industry for support on a cost sharing basis targeted at development of novel and high risk futuristic technologies mainly for viability gap funding and enhancing existing R&D capacities of start-ups and SMEs in key areas of national importance and public good.
Major thrust of the programme is towards funding technologies which address a major national problem and/or involves high level of innovation. The proposals spanning across the spectrum of pre-proof-of-concept to validation of established technologies are considered for support in the form of grant and/or loan.
This scheme will be one of the most enabling mechanisms to promote R&D in biotech industry and public private partnership programmes. The scheme supports large, medium, small scale companies as well as start-up on cost sharing basis. It would push for high risk, discovery linked innovation and accelerated technology development. Varying models of grants, loans or grant plus loans will be made available under the scheme.
The programme will also focus on the evaluation and validation of biotech products and indigenous discovery, innovation and technology to products with focus on the products of national relevance or public benefit. BIPP is an advanced technology initiative by the DBT for supporting innovative and challenging R&D in industry.
Under the programme support will also be provided for infrastructure or facility set up in cases where such a facility leads to R&D capacity building or is required for scale up of an innovative product or process of national importance developed through company's in-house R&D. In such cases the facility proposed could be in the area of agriculture, healthcare, biosimilars, industrial processes, energy, bioinformatics, genomics and other relevant areas in biotechnology.
Under this advanced technology scheme, support would be provided only for a single or consortia of Indian company (ies) - small, medium or large having DSIR recognized in-house R&D units, alone or in collaboration with a partner from another company/institute/organization.