- Highlights of 2024
ISGF Innovation Awards instituted in 2017 is aimed to recognize and to celebrate organizations (utilities and technology companies), projects, products and personalities that have set a new benchmark in Electricity, Gas, Water and E-Mobility domains. Till 2023, ISGF had selected and recognized more than 257 such organizations/ individuals. The 8th Edition of ISGF Innovation Awards 2024 will be conferred to the Winners on 15 March 2024.
India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) invites public and private utilities, urban local bodies, technology companies, start-ups, incubators, researchers and academia to submit their nominations.
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Link to view past winners |
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2023 |
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2022 |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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2019 |
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2018 |
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2017 |
For ISGF Innovation Awards 2024, the following award categories are open for nomination. Please refer below table for award categories and eligibility:
|
Sr No |
Award Categories |
Who can Apply? |
Category Focus |
|
1
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Best Smart Grid Project in India
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Utilities (Public & Private) OR Implementing Agencies OR Technology Companies/EPC Contractors |
Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) in India have executed several smart grid projects. This category will recognize holistic implementation, integration, and impact coming from successfully deployed solutions, rather than piece meal modules. Nominations will be divided into two categories:
a) Utilities Please note: For the same project, only one nomination will be accepted. Utility and Implementing Agency can submit joint nomination if both are interested.
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2 |
Most Innovative Renewable Energy Programs/Projects in India a. Solar (Utility Scale)b. Wind (Utility Scale)
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Implementing Agencies OR Technology Companies |
This award category will recognise the innovative measures adopted for the promotion of Solar or Wind Energy at Utility Scale by any Company/Agency/in India
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3 |
Smart Technology a) Electricity - Generation |
Utilities, Project Developers and Operators, Technology Providers, Start-ups and Entrepreneurs |
This award category will recognise successfully implemented smart technologies by following: a) Electricity GENCO, TRANSCO, DISCOM, ESS Developers and their Supporting Technology Providers. b) Gas Distribution Public and Private Utilities and their Supporting Technology/Solution Providers. c) Water Distribution Public and Private Utilities and their Supporting Technology/Solution Providers. |
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4 |
Emerging Innovation in Electric Mobility Domain
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This Award category recognizes the most innovative EV and EVSE Design, Manufacture and Rollouts in India under each sub- category mentioned. Please note: |
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5 |
Adoption of Disruptive Technology/Solution
|
Utilities |
DISCOMs in India have
adopted and implemented
projects with several
disruptive technologies such
as Blockchain, Artificial
Intelligence, Virtual Reality,
Machine Learning, Robotics,
Big Data, Drones, Internet of
Things (IoT) etc .
|
|
6 |
Smart Start-up of the Year |
Start – ups with demonstrated solutions for utilities |
This award recognizes technology start-ups (revenue less than 100 crores in financial year 2022-2023), that have helped solving issues mainly for utilities and have enabled them and their end-customers to become efficient and smarter.
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7 |
Smart Incubator of the Year
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Incubators, Entrepreneurship Cells (E-Cell) |
There are many incubators in India that are hosted and supported by Government, Academia, Industrial bodies, Corporate and others. They continue to play a strong role in aiding start-up ecosystem and promoting innovation. This award recognizes their contributions to the industry.
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8 |
Finance For Energy Transition |
Angel Investors, Venture Capital Funds, Family Offices, Private Equity Funds, Development Financing Institutions, other Funding Agencies/Companies who have financed large RE, EV and other Clean Energy Projects and Technologies |
This award category recognizes funding Agencies and Companies who have funded large RE, EV and other Clean Energy Funded Projects as well as those funded break-through technologies that have the potential to drive energy transition. |
|
9 |
Waste-to-Energy Projects (W2E) |
Municipalities and Project Developers who have successfully implemented W2E projects are eligible to apply |
This Award Category recognizes the Successful and Sustainable W2E projects that are completed and running for a minimum period of 1 year as of 31 December 2023. |
|
10 |
ISGF President’s Award for the Best Contribution towards growth of Energy Transition in India
|
Awardees will be selected by ISGF, nominations not required |
This Category recognizes the
Best Contribution towards
growth of Smart Grids,
Clean Energy and Electric
Mobility in India and Winners are chosen by ISGF
|
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11 |
Woman in Power |
Women personalities in the power sector |
This award category will recognize individual women,
OR OR |
1. One Project Nomination can only be submitted in one category (only). Nomination Submitting Party has to decide the best category suitable for winning the award relevant to the project and submit the nomination accordingly. In case of two nominations are received, second nomination as per the date and time will be considered invalid.
2. ISGF holds the right to change the category of nomination in case same is proposed by Jury members
3. All the Project Nominations should be successfully completed projects. Projects at idea/design/implementation stage will not be considered.
4. No Nominations are invited for category: ISGF President’s Award for the Best Contribution towards Energy Transition in India.
5. In case you feel that your Project deserves an Award but it is not fitting into any category – please write to us at awards@isuw.in
1. Individuals or organizations as per details in the above table can apply.
2. Nominations are invited from Indian Companies/Utilities and Companies working on Projects in India.
3. If you do not belong to any of the types of organizations mentioned in the “Who can apply?” list above, but still believe that your entry fits the category description then you are encouraged to write to us at awards@isuw.in
Below mentioned independent jury comprising of distinguished experts will evaluate the nominations and decide upon the winners.
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Jury Panel |
Brief Profile of Jury Panel |
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Mr. V.
Subramanian
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An IAS officer of the 1971 Batch, he was the Secretary of the MNRE (Ministry of New & Renewable
Energy), Govt of India Mr. Subramanian joined the Premier Indian Administrative Service in 1971
(West Bengal Cadre). He served in the districts of West Bengal for many years and was also Principal
Secretary, Labour and Power departments. He was on the boards of WBSEB, WBPDCL, DPL etc in
West Bengal. Later he served the Ministry of Finance for over six years during which he dealt with
public sector projects in the areas of transport, steel & mines, fertilizers, welfare, etc., external
commercial borrowings, exchange control and bilateral aid. In recognition of expertise and
experience in dealing with foreign exchange management in India, he was appointed Adviser on
Loan and Grant Management to the Government of Mozambique, Maputo by the Commonwealth
Secretariat, London for three years. Mr V Subramanian served as the Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of the Indian Wind Energy Association from 2008 to 2019. . He was also an Advisor to HST
Solar where he actively guided the executive team on strategy and regulatory issues.
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Mr. P Uma Shankar |
Mr P Uma Shankar is an Independent and Non-executive Director at Philips Lighting India Limited. He is a retired senior IAS officer who has held several notable positions in the past including Ex-Secretary of Ministry of Power and Ex-Chairman of Rural Electrification Corporation. He is also an independent director on the boards of Jaypee Infratech Ltd, IMP Powers Ltd and Ravindra Energy Ltd. He served earlier on the boards of ONGC Ltd and Shipping Corporation of India Ltd as independent director. He joined the Indian Administrative Services in 1976 and has more than three decades of leadership experience in the Government of India spanning district administration, rural development, finance, housing and urban development, rural and agro-industries, municipal affair and power. P Uma Shankar holds a master’s degree in Mathematics from IIT, Madras and a master’s degree in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries from the London School of Economics. He is currently associated with IIT Chennai in the development of an innovative approach for providing a certain minimum uninterrupted power supply to homes thereby eliminating blackouts. |
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Padmaja Ruparel |
Padmaja Ruparel is nationally recognized as a key player in the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem and has helped co found many of the relevant institutions, besides being an active Angel investor herself. Her operating experience spans large corporates, M&A, and startups/early stage companies. She has been awarded as one of the 'Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business' by Fortune India for 2017, 2018 2019, listed in Forbes India’s W- Power Trailblazers and “30 Most Powerful Women in India” by Business Today for 3 years running. The Women Economic Forum recognized her with its “Women of the Decade in Investment Banking” award. She is Co Founder & President of Indian Angel Network (IAN), India's first and now possibly one of the world’s largest group of business angels, comprising the who's who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs from India and overseas. She built IAN from inception, making it within 15 years a unique institution globally, with close to 500 investors across 10 countries and a portfolio of 175+ companies in 7 countries, spanning 17 sectors. She has operationalised IAN’s international operations in London – making it the only angel group in the world to set up operations outside of its home country. Padmaja has been nominated as Co Chair of Global Business Angel Network (GBAN). She is a member of the National Expert Advisory Committee on Innovation, Incubation and Technology Entrepreneurship. She is a member of several committees of BIRAC (Dept. of Biotech, Govt. of India), various committees of Ministry of Finance, DPIIT, & SEBI. Padmaja is the Senior Managing Partner of the IAN Fund, a uniquely differentiated Fund which along with IAN, is set to create the largest horizontal platform in India for investing in seed and early stage ventures. She is a member of the Governing Council of EM3 Services, a nation building venture seeking to create a paradigm shift in the Indian agricultural sector by improving productivity. Padmaja is an Independent Director on the Boards of Avendus Finance Pvt. Ltd. & Ester Industries Ltd. Apart from cofounding IAN, she also set up and operationalised the Delhi chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) the world’s largest organization focused on entrepreneurship with over 16,000 members across more than 60 chapters across 14 countries. She also established a unique model of an incubator, in partnership with the Indian Government, leveraging 400 mentors to provide mentoring & domain expertise to around 50 young fledgling incubatee companies. She played a key role as Executive Director in building the Indian Venture Capital Association, India's oldest and largest association of VC and PE firms. Currently, she is a member of IVCA’s Limited Partners Council. She helped the creation of Lankan Angel Network in Sri Lanka. She contributed actively in the Planning Commission’s Committee on “Angel & Early Stage Investing in India” which resulted in a seminal report: “Creating a Vibrant Entrepreneurial Eco system in India”. In her corporate avatar at Xansa India, (Xansa was a US$800mn company listed on LSE before being acquired by Steria), she led several functions over a 16 year period : handled recruitment operations, built and successfully executed an innovative brand and communication strategy and led the corporate social responsibility initiative which engaged employees, clients as also the government. She was a key member of the corporate strategy and M&A team as the Company went public, forged joint ventures and the final acquisition of the Indian company. Padmaja picked up entrepreneurial strings very early in her career – she revived and grew the family real estate business in Calcutta – growing if from 50,000 sq ft to over 250,000 sq ft over 2 years and turned it around to become a profitable business. A graduate with English Honours, Padmaja then completed her MBA as well as Chartered Accountancy (Intermediate) with her internship with S.R. Batliboi (an E&Y group company). |
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Mr. BP Singh |
Mr BP Singh is a graduate in Mining Engineering from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and has over 40 years of experience in the power & energy sector. He was a Former Member in DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission). He has issued three successive Tariff Orders for the period 2014 to 2018, being consumer friendly, were highly acclaimed at all levels. As a part of Power sector Reforms, formulated progressive Regulations on Tariff, Net Metering and Demand Side Management and Modified SOP to make it more consumer friendly. Efficacious remedy for redressal of Consumer’s Grievance has been enhanced by making the Regulations consumer friendly and initiated action for creation of legal aid cell for the benefit of the Consumer’s. Prior to taking up the assignment as Member DERC, he rose to the position of Director (Projects) in NTPC, where he additionally had also held assignments viz, Chairman, BRBCL; Chairman NTPC SCCL Global Ventures Pvt. Ltd.; whole time Director of NTPC Hydro Ltd.; BFSNL Ltd. etc. He has been part of numerous high-level committees constituted by the Government of India for formulation of Plan proposals and Policies including Energy Policy, pricing of Coal etc. He has actively participated in formulation of policies for the Regulatory Commissions under the aegis of Forum of India Regulators. He has been associated with numerous professional institutions, viz 1. “Institute Senate Member’ – Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar; 2. Member of General Body & Peer Review Committee of National Institute of Rock Mechanics under Ministry of Mines, 3 Member of the Board of Construction Industry Development Council, joint council by Indian Construction industry and Planning Commission, He had been adjudged and awarded Best Director Projects Corporate Excellence Award 2012-13 – GEOMINTECH; Awarded at Brisbane Dadari Project – awarded for project excellence in 25th IPMA World Congress at Brisbane in 2011; |
The Award will be awarded in below mentioned levels under each category:
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S.No |
Award |
Rank |
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1 |
Diamond Award
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1st Rank |
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2 |
Platinum Award
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2nd Rank |
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3 |
Gold Award
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3rd Rank
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The following parameters will be key while evaluating the nominations. It is advised that the nominations submitted aim to address these points as clearly as possible with evidence/supporting documents:
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S.No |
Parameters |
Parameter Focus |
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1 |
Scale/Size
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i) Mention Project customer size ii) Project should be completed rolled out |
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2 |
Functionality and Features
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Functionality and Features of the Project |
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3 |
Impact
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Impact of the Project
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4 |
Innovation
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i)Specify Alternate Solution ii)Comparison of your solution with others / existing solutions iii)Competitive Analysis |
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5 |
Return on Investment and Sustainability
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Return on Investment and Sustainability of the Project
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6 |
Scalability
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Mention if project is further scalable or confined |
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7 |
Customer Testimony |
Attach/Add some 5 – 10 testimony from your current customers |
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8* |
If you are submitting for the nomination category - Smart Start-up of the Year |
Mention the Profile of Team Members in the Nomination Form |
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Jury evaluation and filtering for presentation round |
50 Marks |
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Project Presentation to Juries |
50 Marks |
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APPLY BEFORE |
20 Dec 2023 |
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JURY PRESENTATION (ROUND 2) |
08 – 09 Feb 2024 |
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AWARD DISTRIBUTION |
15 March 2023 |
Participants can be utilities, individuals or any registered company /organization
At the time of submitting the application, please ensure that you have provided all the necessary details. Incomplete applications will not be accepted
The submissions will be evaluated on the criteria as specified in the evaluation criterion section
All documents submitted shall be used only for evaluation purposes
ISGF reserves the right to reject any entry based on its discretion
ISGF reserves the right to cancel or amend all or any part of the competition and/ or the rules
Any changes to the rules, or cancellation of the competition, will be posted on the contest page on ISGF/ISUW portals. It is the responsibility of the participants to keep themselves informed as to any changes to the rules
ISGF team and partners will not be held responsible if the participants are not able to submit their entries on ISGF portal by email before the last date & time of submission for any reason whatsoever
ISGF accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury of any kind suffered by any participant in participating in the Award, including as a result of any participant winning or not winning any prize
The jury of the ISGF Innovation Award 2021 shall have the final authority in determining the winner of the award in each category. The decision of the Jury shall be final, conclusive and binding, the winner or any other person shall have no legal or any other rights to contest or dispute the decision of the jury
In the event that no Participant in a category is found to be worthy of an award by the Jury, the Award category may be cancelled by the Jury
The award category nomination selected in the nomination form can be changed to other award category by ISGF based on the information provided in the form. The change in award category nomination will be communicated by the ISGF team to the respective nominees
The nominee accepts that content of the nomination form, photography / video recording during and after the event can be used by the ISGF and partners for purpose of producing editorial content and advertising materials
All prizes are non-transferable
By registering for participation in the Contest, the Participant(s) warrant that:
They have complied with the Entry conditions mentioned above
Their entry is original
Their entry does not infringe any Intellectual Property Rights of any third parties
16. There is no fee of any kinds for participation in ISGF Innovation Awards
The Judgment of the Jury shall be deemed as final
Read Details:Visit our website: https://www.isuw.in/innovation-awards
Identify your Category:Read thoroughly the website page and understand the Nomination Categories table with details regarding the award category, eligibility and description. (In case of doubt, please feel free to reach us)
Fill the Nomination Form Online and Submit: Fill each and every detail as asked by us for evaluation of your Nomination by Juries
Email Us for Queries :Write to us at awards@isuw.in
Please note: Any Nomination Form and its Document’s in Hard Copy or Email will not be accepted. Online submission is Mandatory.
ISGF Award Secretariat |
For more details, Winner selection procedure and to submit Nomination, please visit:
http://www.isuw.in/innovation-awards/
Direct link for nomination form: https://forms.gle/1kZpMfxuJ38J8qFS9
Last date to apply for Online Nominations has been extended to 28 Dec 2023
For queries, please write to us at awards@isuw.in
New Delhi, India
Call us at : 011 - 41030398
isuw@isuw.in
