Call for Proposals: Decarbonization Challenge Fund (DCF) Window I – India

Objectives

• The main objective of this Decarbonization Challenge Fund is to attract Green Ideas from each corner of the country (especially village/taluka/district level), remote areas, untouched segments who believe that their idea can lead to larger impact in terms of addressing the Climate Change Issue, has potential to benefit the Environment, and can create avenues/impacts in low-income pockets or underprivileged geographies.

Themes

• Renewable Energy         
  • Solar/Wind/Biomass/hybrid renewable energy projects that integrate energy generation and storage including Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) projects, which integrate with industrial or building electrification projects that lead to reduction of carbon intensity against current CO2 emission or established baseline emission.
• Energy Efficiency            
  • Energy Efficient and Energy Saving Systems/Technologies
  • Energy Efficiency Retrofits
  • Low Carbon Buildings
  • Any project leading to reduction in Electricity Grid Losses
  • Any new/innovative approach/models towards Industrial Decarbonisation
• Clean Transportation    
  • Promoting electrification of transportation including enabling and supporting EV Infrastructure and EV Ecosystem.
• Pollution Prevention and Control            
  • Projects targeting reduction of air pollution emissions, greenhouse gas control, waste management, waste prevention, waste recycling, waste reduction and energy/emission-efficient waste-to-energy.
• Green Buildings
  • Projects related to buildings that meet regional, national or internationally recognized standards or certifications for environmental performance.

Fund Support

• There can be one or more winners who shall be awarded under each theme. The fund support could be in the various forms including non-grant instruments, term loan, equity like debt instruments, grants, etc. based on the willingness of the applicant and techno-commercial feasibility of the proposal.
• The upper cap of financial support (not exceeding 20% in the form of grant) for projects is Rs. 25 lakhs (Rs. 30 lakhs for Women Applicant).
• The minimum period of implementation should be more than 3 months and up to 12 months with additional validity of withdrawal up to 3 months’ post completion of the project.
• Preference shall be accorded in rating/selection to North Eastern Region (NER), Ladakh/J&K, Rural, Women/SC/ST/Underserved/Aspirational Districts.

Eligible Projects/Ideas

• DCF expects impact-oriented projects/ideas which preferably addresses the problems of the bottom of the pyramid targeting village level enterprises/micro. enterprises/unprivileged/underprivileged/unserved/underserved segments/societies as beneficiaries.
• The projects must be within the focused theme areas and directly or indirectly aligned with the objective of DCF and SIDBI.
• The applicant is advised to prepare a proposal which is implementable having a proper Project plan/strategy, list of activities involved, estimated budget, environmental & social impacts of the projects along-with the implementation timelines.
• Demonstrate Substantial energy saving and GHG emission reduction potential.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory requirements:
  • Applicants must be:
    • MSMEs, ESCOs, RESCOs, development organization, development Agencies with more than 2 years of experience in India having complied with all the statutory guidelines pertaining to organizational regulations and operations in India.
    • Have audited its account and finance for at least last 2 FYs. In case of educational institutions/MSMEs, the condition can be waived.
• General Conditions:
  • Have a written constitution, memorandum of understanding, byelaws etc. which clearly set out the organisation’s aims and how it operates.

Ineligibility

• Blacklisted/defaulter/fraud organizations/institutions/ by any recognized agency (domestic/international) or have been recognized as a malpractice/fraudulent/bad track record/ineligible by any donor agency.
• If they have:
  • Conflict of interest with DCF and SIDBI
  • Are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the SIDBI under DCF as a condition of participation or fail to supply this information; and
  • Have attempted to obtain confidential information or influence the evaluation committee or SIDBI during the evaluation process for the call of proposals.

For more information, visit Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).