Bengaluru: The Technology Development Board (TDB), a body that falls under the Department of Science and Technology has invited proposals from Indian organizations to come up with new protective measures and pieces of equipment such as home-based respiratory systems for the COVID-19 patients. The proposal can vary from low-cost masks, cost-effective scanning devices, rapid diagnostic kits, oxygenators and ventilators etc. 

TDB aims to assist organizations financially with soft loans up to 50 per cent project cost at five per cent simple interest per annum and equity participation, to a maximum of 25 per cent of the project cost. It also provides grants in exceptional cases to encourage organizations with unique and new ideas in the technology domain, which is likely to be adopted for domestic use in order to battle COVID-19.

The organizations can submit their proposals online at www.tdb.gov.in, the official website of TDB by 27th March 2020. The proposals will be evaluated by a panel of high officials and experts on the basis of technical, scientific, commercial and financial merits.

Any organization can come up with technologically innovative solutions in the areas mentioned below:

• Low-cast masks that are designed to capture the virus efficiently from the air and absorb respiratory droplets.
• Any cheap method of effective thermal-scanning.
• Large area sterilization and sanitation, which may include electrostatic spray and Ultra Violet (UV) treatment for various surfaces.
• Surveillance and Bioinformatics systems.
• An accurate diagnostic kit which could be paper-based as well as other points of care devices.
• Contact-less through AI or IoT based solution.
• Portable oxygenators and ventilators.

With most parts of the country is running out of gears to deal with the pandemic, high hopes are pinned on private organizations to come up with cost-effective new ideas and solutions immediately, to stop the further spread of the Coronavirus.