Scheme for Assistance for Research & Development Activities: Assistance for Contract/Sponsored Research Work

What is the Contract/Sponsored Research Work assistance?

Assistance for Contract/Sponsored Research Work is Scheme 2 of the Scheme for Assistance for Research & Development Activities, notified by the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020. The parent scheme was notified by Government Resolution No. GID-102020-327060-G dated 1 September 2020 and came into force on 7 August 2020 for five years. The Industries Commissionerate at Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar, runs it.

The idea is to make contract research affordable for Gujarat's industry. A manufacturer with a process problem, an effluent it cannot treat economically, a material it wants to substitute, a product it wants to redesign; commissions a laboratory or an engineering college to solve it. Under normal conditions the manufacturer pays the whole bill. Under this scheme the state pays up to half.

According to the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 document, the government provides assistance for contract or sponsored research work commissioned by any industrial enterprise or industrial association from a recognised R&D institution or an AICTE-approved technical college at 50% of project cost, excluding the cost of land and building, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh.

The R&D policy has four components in total. Scheme 1 funds a company's own R&D or product development centre at up to 30%, Scheme 3 funds laboratories set up by the state or central government on a need basis, and Scheme 4 funds laboratories set up by industrial associations at up to 60%. Scheme 2, covered here, is the only one that funds the research work itself rather than the building of a facility.

Who is eligible for contract and sponsored research assistance?

Institutions that can apply

• All Research and Development institutions recognised by CSIR or DSIR.
• Institutions set up by the Government of Gujarat or the Government of India.
• AICTE approved institutions and professional colleges, including autonomous colleges and those affiliated to universities.
• Any other institution approved by the State Level supported Committee.

Who can sponsor the work

The eligible institution may take contract or sponsored research proposals from industrial associations, an individual industrial undertaking, the government, or any other agency approved by the SLEC.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible

• Individual researchers, faculty members and students cannot apply. There is no personal grant, stipend or fellowship in this scheme.
• The sponsoring industry cannot claim the money, it goes to the institution carrying out the research.
• An institution without CSIR or DSIR recognition, government origin, AICTE approval or specific SLEC approval is not eligible.
• Land and building costs are not eligible project cost.
• Recurring expenditure is not eligible under any component of the R&D policy.
• Routine work is not research. Market research, work and methods study, operations and management research, and routine testing and analysis for process control, quality control, day-to-day production and plant maintenance are all excluded.
• Equipment already bought with another State Government grant cannot be shown again, the application form carries an express declaration on this.

How much is paid, and on what basis?

The stated quantum is up to 50% of the project cost, capped at Rs 50 lakh during the operative period of the scheme. The remaining cost is borne by the proponent, the industry or association sponsoring the work, and the institution must produce an agreement letter recording that cost sharing.

The operating guidelines add a slab structure that the State Level supported Committee adopted in its 2nd meeting so that grant funds spread across more applicants and reach MSME-level research:

The guidelines illustrate the calculation: an eligible project cost of Rs 70 lakh attracts Rs 21 lakh, and a cost of Rs 3 crore attracts Rs 30 lakh on the first crore plus Rs 40 lakh on the next two crore, or Rs 70 lakh in total. For Scheme 2 the Rs 50 lakh ceiling caps whatever the slab arithmetic produces.

Eligible project cost heads on the Scheme 2 application form are machinery and equipment, hardware and software, electrification, consumables, consultancy and other. Building does not appear on the Scheme 2 form at all, unlike Schemes 1, 3 and 4.

What documents are required?

The application form also asks for the name of the sponsoring industry, institution or organisation, its contribution to the work, the details of the principal investigator, whether any assistance has been taken under a Government of India or another Government of Gujarat scheme, expected revenue generation over five years, the status of any project sanctioned earlier by the Industries Commissionerate office, whether any government dues are pending, whether any legal case is pending in a court of law, and the GPCB consent details if applicable.

How to apply for contract or sponsored research assistance

1. Sign the agreement with the sponsoring industry or industrial association, recording the research work to be carried out and how the project cost will be shared.
2. Prepare the project report covering the target research sector, the objective of the research work, the project cost and means of finance, the implementation schedule and the list of beneficiary units.
3. Fill the Scheme 2 sanction application form from the R&D operating guidelines and assemble the Scheme 2 checklist documents, all signed by the authorised signatory, with financial statements certified by the auditor or chartered accountant.
4. Submit the file to the Office of the Industries Commissioner, Block No. 1/2, 3rd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382010.
5. Attend the presentation before the Screening Committee, covering the technical and financial aspects of the project, its innovativeness and the proposed outcome.
6. Wait for the State Level supported Committee to approve the recommended proposal and for the in-principle approval letter to be issued.
7. Carry out the research, then file the claim application with the Scheme 2 claim checklist, claim application form and CA certificate published on the Industrial Policy 2020 page of ic.gujarat.gov.in.
8. Host the physical inspection headed by the General Manager of the District Industries Centre, after which the assistance is reimbursed by the Office of the Industries Commissioner subject to availability of funds.

What has to be reported after the research is finished?

The institution taking on contract or sponsored research work has three continuing obligations under the operating guidelines.

First, it must furnish a copy of the target research work along with the outcome of that work, plus the details of the industries, sector or cluster that benefited, to the Office of the Industries Commissioner. Second, it must provide utilisation certificates quarterly for the assistance received within a financial year, and no further assistance is released until the previous financial year's certificate is in. Third, it must maintain separate books of accounts for the project, and the project must have separately identifiable eligible fixed capital investment.

Timing of expenditure is a live issue. Investment made after the date the application reaches the Office of the Industries Commissioner is eligible. For institutions that applied before the operating guidelines were declared on 27 July 2022, expenditure from 7 August 2020 to that date also counts, provided the other conditions of the GR are satisfied.

Why applications and claims fail

• No agreement letter from the sponsoring industry recording the cost sharing — the guidelines make this an express condition.
• Sponsor's share not actually paid. The institution can claim only up to 50%; the proponent must bear the rest.
• Institution not in an eligible category: no CSIR or DSIR recognition, not government-set-up, not AICTE approved and not separately approved by the SLEC.
• The work is routine testing, not research, which the general terms exclude.
• Land or building cost in the claim, which is outside eligible project cost.
• Recurring expenditure claimed.
• No separate books of accounts for the project.
• Pending government dues or a pending court case.
• Utilisation certificate for the previous financial year not filed, which freezes further release.

Non-compliance with the GR, the guidelines or the in-principle approval letter can lead to cancellation of the sanction, discontinuation of disbursement and debarment from the scheme. The SLEC may withdraw an approval already given.

Key dates

• 7 August 2020. The R&D scheme comes into force.
• 1 September 2020; GR No. GID-102020-327060-G issued.
• 27 July 2022, operating guidelines declared, which fixes the eligibility date for expenditure by early applicants.
• 6 August 2025: end of the notified five-year operative period.

Gujarat has since published the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026 on the Industries Commissionerate website, and no extension notification for the R&D scheme appears on the Industrial Policy 2020 page. An institution planning a new proposal should confirm the current position with the Commissionerate before signing a sponsorship agreement that assumes the subsidy.

Sanctioning authority, contact and grievances

Assistance is sanctioned by the State Level supported Committee, chaired by the ACS, Principal Secretary or Secretary of the Industries and Mines Department, with the Industries Commissioner, a Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative, the department's Financial Adviser, a Joint or Deputy Secretary, the Additional Industries Commissioner and a co-opted sector expert as members, and a Joint or Deputy Commissioner of Industries as Member Secretary.

The contact person listed in the R&D operating guidelines is the Joint Technical Advisor (P.I.), Office of the Industries Commissionerate, Block No. 1/2, 3rd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382010, telephone 079-23252684, email jtapi-ic@gujarat.gov.in or icsalt@gujarat.gov.in.

In case of any dispute, the operating guidelines state that the decision of the SLEC is final.