From: Arvind Chaudhary Scientist
Sent: 16 March 2020 17:16
To:
Cc: Secretary SERB ; Dr Neelima

Subject: Special limited call for remedial approach to combat and prevent coronavirus infections

Dear Sir,

In the recent outbreak of Corona Virus (Covid 19) globally affecting plenty of human lives, it appears essential to take fast and preventive approaches to combat this and other similar viral infections.

In view of increasing cases of Covid 19 in India, SERB announces a special limited call for a one-year project on a focused topic for developing preventive chemical approaches to combat and counter viral infections in healthcare settings. It may be applicable to virocentric regions relating to new chemical approaches to sanitize inanimate surfaces and effective (could be repurposed) antivirals to be incorporated in cost-effective breathing masks.

The proposal should be highly focused on these relevant points and not exceeding the budget of Rs. 25 lakhs (without any capital budget for equipment, including overhead). One institute can submit only one proposal.

The CRG format available at SERB website may be used for submitting the proposal. The budget should be filled only for one year. The soft copy of the proposal may be sent through mail to the undersigned and hard copy at SERB address.

The proposal submission will remain opened only for 5 working days i.e. till 05:00 PM of 23rd March, 2020.

Regards, Arvind
Dr. Arvind Chaudhary
Scientist-C, Science and Engineering Research Board
(A Statutory Body of the Government of India)
New Delhi-110070
Phone: 011-40000381 (Direct)
011-40000385/266 (Inorganic & Physical Chemistry)
011-46003040 (Organic Chemistry)
Fax: +91 11 40000333, Email: arvind@serb.gov.in, Website: www.serb.gov.in [1]

This is another call received from SERB "SERB IRHPA Call on 19th March 2020 at SERBONLINE webportal". Please note that this is different from the previous call by SERB (which we had already circulated). This call has additional areas & with higher level of funding. The deadline is 30th March, 2020. The interested faculty members may formulate & submit the proposal accordingly. Further details are appended:-

SERB IRHPA Call on 19th March 2020 at SERBONLINE webportal:

COVID-19 and related respiratory viral infections

COVID-19 and related respiratory viral infections COVID-19 virus has spread rapidly throughout the world bringing an epidemic-like situation. Given the lack of an efficacious vaccine and lack of availability of suitable chemotherapeutic interventions, the global population has been hit hard with utmost vulnerability to the current coronavirus outbreak. Thus, there is an urgent need to ramp up national R&D efforts for new antivirals, vaccines, and affordable diagnostics. With this background, SERB announces a special IRHPA Call (3-year duration) specifically designed for COVID-19 and related respiratory viral infections.

Academic and research institutions are encouraged to submit competitive proposals having a strong interdisciplinary component between chemists, biologists, virologists, immunologists, and clinicians, in the following areas. One of the participating institutions should have access to BSL-3 and above facilities, along with expertise of handling respiratory viruses as per WHO/Govt. of India protocols.

• New or repurposed antivirals against valid viral targets; viricidal coatings; etc.
• Affordable diagnostics for symptomatic and asymptomatic respiratory viral infections
• Investigational vaccines against respiratory viruses
• Development of disease models for respiratory viral infections
• Studies on immune response and immunity during respiratory viral infections
• Epidemiology of COVID and other respiratory viral infections

It is desirable to bring technical partnerships and collaborative know-how from biotech and pharmaceutical companies. SERB is committed for strategic investments to accelerate antiviral research under aforementioned verticals.

Proposals should be submitted as per SERB-IRHPA format by March 30, 2020 (5 pm) through SERB online portal.

An urgent invitation for your students & Faculty Members to take part in the Code Life Ventilator Challenge. [1] The initiative aims at finding a solution to the current COVID-19 pandemic by the design of ventilators that can serve the patients who need respiratory support. The Code Life Ventilator Challenge is launched by the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and powered by Agorize.

With potentially 70% of the population on the brink of being infected by COVID-19, our worldwide health care systems are currently being strained beyond their limits. Even now, there aren't enough ventilators to save everyone who needs respiratory support. Our modern world provides the means to produce these life-saving ventilators thanks to widespread rapid manufacturing tools—3D printers, CNC machines— combined with low-cost computers (i.e. smartphones, Arduinos, etc.), but what is missing is a design.

For that reason, the goal of the Code Life Ventilator Challenge is to design a ventilator that can serve the COVID patients, in an emergency time frame.

Three finalist teams will be selected and share a cash prize of at least $200,000.00 CAD. Their designs will be available for free download to anyone who needs them, saving lives immediately. Due to the urgency of COVID-19, the deadline to submit a project is March 31, 2020.

Kind regards,
Julianne--
Julianne Hennig |
Senior Community Manager
julianne@agorize.com | +852 6284 3787
Agorize Asia | The Hive, 33-35 Hillier St, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

The theme of the current RFP is “Developing Diagnostics, Vaccines, novel Therapeutics, re purposing of drugs and any other intervention for control of COVID-19 outbreak”. Projects submitted must take into account the criteria for affordability, wide-spread adoption and have a realistic possibility for scale-up.

Important dates for RFP: Publication on 19th March 2020

End date on 30th March 2020 at 2.00 pm

COVID-19 Research Consortium

Further information can be obtained at BIRAC Website: https://birac.nic.in/

Contact Person
Dr Artee,
Manager-Investment:
inv03@birac.nic.in

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT BOARD, New Delhi

FIGHTING COVID-19; SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSALS HERE!

In the last few decades various viral diseases have spread across continents and caused massive fatalities. The latest in the list is the COVID-19 pandemic which has put healthcare system of various countries out of gear. The disease typically spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, spewing nasal and throat secretions into the air. Medical complications in such cases, invariable include acute respiratory problems requiring patients to be put under ventilation.

Scope

With an aim to contain and protect the general population from getting infected, clinical mask of appropriate efficiency must be available at all time. For the infected patients, home based ventilator systems must be made available in case the health care facilities are overburdened. Further, other products/technologies to monitor and control spread of diseases shall also be made available.

The Technology Development Board invites proposal applications from Indian companies and enterprises to address protection and home-based respiratory intervention for COVID-19 patients. The proposal may include technologically innovative solution towards:

• Low cost masks which can capture virus from air and absorb respiratory droplets
• Cost effective Thermal Scanning
• Large area sanitization and sterilization (including electrostatic spray and Ultra Violet treatment for various available surfaces like glass,ceramic, wood, textile etc)
• Bioinformatics and Surveillance
• Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis kit (paper based and other point of care devices) • AI and IOT based solution for contact-less entry
• Oxygenators and ventilators (Low cost and portable)
• Or any other related technology

FIGHTING COVID-19; PROPOSALS SUBMISSION

Last Date: 30th March 2020 as advertised in Times of India Delhi Edition dated 23th March 2020. (TDB Website indicates 27.03.2020)

From: Zuhua Shan
Date: 25 March 2020 at 5:47:50 PM IST
To: zuhuashan

Subject: Knowledge for fighting Covid-19 from Chinese Embassy

Dear friends,

It is a hard time for all of us.

China had a tough time for fighting COVID-19, but we also gained some valuable experience and knowledge. I'm here to offer you, and I hope that these experience and knowledge will help you fight COVID-19. Please transfer them to someone in need.

Best regards!
Bai Jie
Counsellor
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in India

https://covid19.alliancebrh.com/

The Ministry of Education Innovation Cell, All India Council for Technical Education and FORGE Accelerator, are hosting a national level 48 hour virtual/online ideation hackathon to discover ideas from innovators, researchers, scientists, and educators across the country for fighting against COVID-19.

Please Share your challenge, become a mentor, solve challenges. The details are appended or can be accessed at (https://www.icfhe.in/covid-19-online-hackathon/ )

Fight Corona virtual IDEAthon

CShare your challenge, become a mentor, solve challenges March 27 & 28, 2020

InnovatioCuris Foundation of Healthcare & Excellence (ICFHE), under the aegis of the Ministry of Education Innovation Cell, All India Council for Technical Education and FORGE Accelerator, is hosting a national level 48 hour virtual/online ideation hackathon to discover ideas from thousands of innovators, researchers, scientists, and educators from across India are joining hands as a true community during these uncertain and challenging times to discover solutions that can help the nation rise as one in the fight against COVID-19.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

• Become a mentor
• Join the cause by leveraging your expertise to mentor individuals and teams to work on the problem statements and challenges around the COVID-19 crisis.
• Suggest challenges
• Have interesting ideas that could effectively stem the COVID-19 crisis? Suggest ideas and challenges that will contribute in containing the COVID-19 crisis.
• Solve challenges in the hackathon
• Join the ONLINE hackathon as an individual or a team to solve the challenges that have been sourced from around the globe to tackle the COVID-19 crisis

Team InnovatioCuris
Suite No 405, Infinity Business Park, H - 221, Sector 63
Noida, 201301

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global crisis. This pandemic requires specific breakthrough solutions. The Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF), well known for promoting and supporting purposeful innovations in all walks of life for nearly 20 years now, has come forward support the research & innovations to combat it.

Mr Harsh Mariwala and Mr Amit Mitra have created this Innovate2BeatCOVID grand challenges: Ventilator and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)solutions under the auspices of MIF.

It has this generous prize money of Rs 2.5 crore. The idea is to Ignite the creative capabilities of confident Indian innovators, who will rise to the challenge of providing novel solutions which are affordable, simple, safe, scalable and sustainable.

Innovate2BeatCOVID

Press release

Detailed guidelines

For further details please visit Indian Council for Cultural Relations

Last Date: 1st May 2020

For any query please write to iccr4art[at]gmail[dot]com

Indian Council for Cultural Relations
Azad Bhavan
I. P. Estate
New Delhi 110002

Join Invest India in the fight against COVID-19! We are looking for innovative technologies and solutions for precautionary as well as treatment-related interventions.

This call is to all Start-up, Companies, Innovators etc. which are making essential medical items for COVID-19 as well as innovative tech for applications such as motion tracking, geo-fencing, fake news detection among others.

Apply before Sunday, 29th March 2020

Startupindia Website

We have received "Invitation for Proposal for Ventilators for COVID-19 from DRDO" as per following details.

As you are aware that world is grappled with novel corona virus Pandemic. However, for the management of COVID 19, availability of ventilators for patients, affordable testing kits, and effective PPEs are critically required.

The DRDO (Govt of India) invites the proposals to augment the availability of the ventilators to desired numbers indigenous. The proposals should be based on matured and ready for prototyping technology will be preferred.

Essential Technical Features of the ventilators to be used for medical management of COVID-19 patients are appended below:-

*Essential Technical features for Ventilator for COVID-19*

• The machine should be turbine/ compressor based because the installation sites might not have central Oxygen Lines.
• The machine should have Invasive, non-invasive and CPAP features to make them versatile.
• 200-600ml tidal volume, Lung Mechanics Display
• Monitoring of Plateau Pressure, PEEP, PS, oxygen concentration, lung mechanics/
• inverse ratio (I:E)
• Pressure & volume control & PSV
• working capability for 4-5 days

If you consider your product matches with ETFs, you may please submit details of your product with detailed specifications and also mention if any help is required to be provided from DRDO in developing and producing ventilators.

The proposals are to be forwarded through IRD to secydrdo[at]hqr[dot]drdo[dot]in or Dr. AK Singh, Director General, Life Sciences at dgls[at]hqr[dot]drdo[dot]in

National Innovation Foundation – India (NIF), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India has come up with a call inviting innovative citizens to participate in its Challenge COVID-19 Competition (C3). All interested innovators are welcome to participate with their creative ideas and innovations for problems or issues like reducing transmission of Coronavirus through original creative ideas, innovations, which can supplement the efforts of the government in slowing or eliminating the spread further, innovative ideas which can make activities like sanitizing one's hands,body, and home items etc.

Ideas are also invited for gainful engagement of people at home, healthy food for nutrition and boosting immunity especially at the time of lockdown when raw materials are limited, (Personal Protective Equipment) PPE's and rapid diagnostic testing facilities for capacity building of healthcare and other areas.

• Healthy food for nutrition and boosting immunity
• Reducing transmission of Corona virus
• Sanitising one’s hands, body, home items and home, public places wherever required
• Supply and distribution of essential items to people specially the elderly living alone
• Gainful engagement of people at home
• PPE’s and Rapid diagnostic testing facilities for capacity building of healthcare
• Rethinking “contactless” devices for the post-Corona implementation needs
• Varying needs of the different segment of population during COVID-19

Last Date: Ideas will be accepted on a rolling basis until further notification from NIF

Website

Interested faculty colleagues may like to participate in it.

Department of Science and Technology has announced a Special Call under 'Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)' to fight against COVID-19 and other related viruses.

It reads as follows:

Department of Science and Technology invites concept note under 'Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)' for the appropriate intervention of yoga and meditation to fight against COVID-19 and other similar kinds of viruses. This special call aims to provide assistance to our society in today's critical condition arises due to pandemic COVID-19. The project may address any one of the following themes:

• Improving immunity
• Improving respiratory system and interventions to overcome respiratory disorders like COPD etc.
• Stress, anxiety and depression related issues due to isolation,uncertainty, disruptions in normal life, etc.

The concept note may be submitted at e-PMS (onlinedst.gov.in [1]) till April 30, 2020.

Website

Interested faculty colleagues are requested to submit the concept note at e-PMS (onlinedst.gov.in [1]) till April 30, 2020.

Electronic Project Management System(e-PMS)