General

1. What is the CAWACH program and its salient features?
   The Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) is an initiative by National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.Given the impact of COVID-19 globally and in India, the need of the hour is to support innovations in this direction and end any further damage to the economy. Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is supporting innovations offering comprehensive solutions through the startup-ecosystem.DST has nominated Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE)-IITB to implement Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) to source and support startups having solutions to fight pandemic COVID-19 by way of funding. SINE will be supported by Indian STEPs and Business Incubator Association (ISBA) in implementation of the program.
   CAWACH  supports  innovations in the following areas:
   1. High thrust products and solutions
      • High impact and scalable products and solutions that address COVID-19 challenges
      • Ventilators and PPE
        
        • Portable ventilators, respirator, resuscitator, pulse oximeters, oxygen concentrators and other peripheral medical equipment such as contactless thermometers & Stethoscopes, Patient monitoring system accessories
        • Personal Protective Equipment (Masks, Shields, Suits, Goggles, Linen and disposable gowns, gloves, lab shoes), relevant medical accessories
      • Sterilizers and Disinfectants: Sanitizers, disinfectants and allied systems such as booths/ community disinfectant stations / chambers, bio-hazardous waste management solutions, large scale sanitization and sterilization, surface sterilization units (preferably automated & IoT enabled)
      • Diagnostic: Rapid Antibody & Antigen diagnostic kits, Other diagnostic kits, Genomics based mapping solutions, Reagents, Safe sample collections
      • Informatics: Health care information systems, Movement tracking & tracing, Crowd management, Geofencing,  Logistics, any containment solutions involving software/mobile applications, Patient tracking/ monitoring systems
   2. Any solution that addresses/mitigates various challenges faced by country/society due to severe impact of COVID-19
   3. Product/solution near-ready, ready for deployment or manufacturing scaleup or repurposing of existing products and services that can be quickly deployed.
2. How long is the CAWACH program open for application?
   Call for application for the first round  is extended till April 20, 2020 till 17:00 hrs.
3. Who owns the IP/Patent under the CAWACH program?
   The startup owns the IP/Patent under the CAWACH program
   

   Eligibility

4. Does the solution need to be related to COVID 19 only?
   Yes, any solution that addresses/mitigates various challenges faced by the country/society due to the severe impact of COVID-19 will be considered under the CAWACH program.
5. What if I have already received a COVID related grant from another agency/institution, will I be eligible under CAWACH program?
   You can apply under the CAWACH program, however, the decision to fund will be taken by the CAWACH investment committee.
6. What are the eligibility criteria?
   
   • Less than 7 years in existence
   • The startup should have DIPP recognition with Startup India, In case the startup does not have DIPP recognition while applying in the CAWACH program, the startup should ensure DIPP recognition before availing of funding under the CAWACH program
   • For this grant , startups that are less than 7 years old are eligible to apply. Rest of the conditions as per ‘Startup’ definition in the https://www.startupindia.gov.in/ portal would  be applicable. The applicant should have DIPP recognition (https://blog.ipleaders.in/registration-startup-with-dipp/) before availing funding upon selection.
   • Should have a qualified team in place
   • Preferably at a revenue stage or has raised funds earlier
   • Preferably to have already deployed or ready to deploy product within a few weeks
   • Startups which are not incubated at any Incubation centres will have to associate with one of the Satellite or Affiliate centres for the entire project duration. The startup is required to give an undertaking of the same while submitting the application form. The startup shall abide by the terms of selected Satellite Centre for incubation.
   • Documents to be submitted as per the application form(refer website-https://dstcawach.in/)
7. Can individuals apply under CAWACH program?
   No , please refer to question no. 6 for eligibility
   

   
   Application

8. How can we apply?
   
   • Visit- https://dstcawach.in/
   • Fill up the application form and submit along with all the relevant documents mentioned in the form
9. Can I apply for funds other than capital expenditure and operational expenditure?
   No, The CAWACH funding program is meant for capital expenditure ((Equipment, Tools, Machinery, Premises or Rental for any of these, Outsourcing, Contract Manufacturing and any other justifiable capital expenditure) and operational expenditure( manpower,  raw material & consumable, legal, transport, communication and any other justifiable operational expenditure) only.
10. My company is not incubated anywhere? Is getting associated with an incubator necessary to qualify under CAWACH program?
    Yes, Startups which are not incubated at any incubation centres will have to associate with one of the Satellite or Affiliate centres allotted during the project duration.  The startup who is not associated with any incubator is required to give an undertaking as per format while submitting the application form.
11. I am not in a position to upload certain documents as part of the application, can I furnish them later?
    All documents as stated in the application form need to be furnished while applying under the program, incomplete forms will not be considered for evaluation. In case any difficulty please contact [email protected] or call on 8217320019
12. Can I submit more than 1 application for more than one thrust area under CAWACH program?
    If your company requires funding for more than 1 product, you can apply by making different applications using different email ids.  However, the decision to fund will be taken by the CAWACH investment committee.
13. How can I make changes to my application post submission?
    No changes can be done after submitting the application, hence please ensure all the information is filled accurately before submitting the form.
    

    
    Selection Process

14. What is the process of selection?
    
    • Initial scrutiny of application
    • Selected applications will be evaluated by high-level technical and industry experts committee
    • Shortlisted applicants shall make a presentation (online or in-person) before the CAWACH-Investment Committee
    • Preference to be given to the companies who can fast deploy their solutions at scale
15. Do I have an option of choosing Satellite Centre/Affiliate Centre under the program?
    Satellite Centre/Affiliate Centre will be allotted by CAWACH Management Centre (CMC) for the shortlisted applicants. Refer the website https://dstcawach.in/ for list of Satellite centre/Affiliate Centre and nodal agencies
    

    
    Support

16. In case I need any clarification about this program whom do I connect with?
    Should you need any clarification you can write to [email protected] or call on 8217320019
17. Will the information given by me be kept confidential?
    Confidentiality of information for all the proposals we receive under CAWACH program shall be maintained at every stage.