######## 5.3 DST's ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Proposals must attempt to fully disclose the research ideas and approaches. It is important that proposals are well crafted and provide a substantive description of the research plan for a fair review of the scientific/technical plans and approaches. Proprietary or confidential information must be clearly indicatedin the proposal. Proposals must not be duplicative or substantially similar to any previous project or proposal submission. The project leading to the development of a device/prototype/process with ( ) Technology Readiness Levels TRL having potential for commercialization, must start at least at TRL 3 and will be eligible for financial support. The implementation or commercialization plan should be clearly spelled out with achievable milestones, timelines, justifiable budget requirements, and engagement with prospective technology transfer partners or technology transfer facilitating bodies. The participation of companies is strongly encouraged. Companies can participate as co-applicants (eligible for funding) or cooperation partners (non-funded). The applications must include a statement on how the proposed collaboration brings added value for bothcountries.

### 6.PROCEDURE FORSUBMISSION OFPROJECTPROPOSAL

The French and Indian applicants will develop one joint Project plan, and the plan will be sent to both France (ANR) and India (DST) using the forms of each organization, respectively. It should be ensured that applications with identical titles have been submitted from both counterparts.

The project proposal must include the name of one Principal Investigator (PI) each in India and France. On the Indian side, it is advised to include one Co-PI in the proposal.

The The proposal, in English, must be submitted to DST and ANR, no later than May 06 , 2025 (05.30 pm IST/ at . 5:00 pm (CET)

######## 6.1 SUBMISSION IN INDIA:

The Project Proposal could be submitted for financial support through by Scientists/ ONLINE MODE ONLY Engineers/ Technologists working in universities and other Academic institutions; R&Dinstitutions/ laboratories having adequate infrastructure and facilities to carry out R&D work. The PI(s) should have relevant experience as evident from previous prototype commercialization or development orpractical experience in the chosen area/topic with field knowledge.

On the Indian side, the Project Proposal could be submitted in the enclosed format through ONLINE MODE (https://onlinedst.gov.in . NO HARD COPY of the project proposal should be submitted. ONLY )

Please ensure that the following documents have been completed and uploaded along with the proposal.

- Certificate from the investigator (in the enclosed format).
- Endorsement from Head of the institution on Letter Head (in the enclosed format).
- Asigned certificate for the Conflict of Interest (in the enclosed format)
- Biodata of PI/Co-PI

Applications received without the above documents with incomplete information will not be entertained. A soft th copy in pdf format is also to be emailed to ranjith.krishnapai@gov.in on or before May 06 , 2025 (05:30 pm IST).

Funding will be governed by Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Technology (CEST) Division, Department of Science and Technology funding guidelines.

######## 6.2 SUBMISSION IN FRANCE:

The French partner's scientific coordinator must submit his or her full project proposal (scientific document, CV, information filled in online) on the ANR submission platform before May 6th, 2025, at 5:00 pm (CET) on the following platform: