Business Plan Contest

Guidelines

www.indiafutureofchange.com
INDIA Future of Change
Business Plan Contest

Make India Your Business

Sometimes the biggest changes
start with the smallest steps!

India – exciting, dynamic and ever-changing. A seamless combination of rich heritage

and a paradigm shifting entrepreneurial spirit! Now you have the opportunity to
participate in the INDIA Future of Change Business Plan Contest and become a part
of a growth story that never ceases to amaze!

The INDIA Future of Change Business Plan Contest invites students from around
the world to present their plan(s) on any one or more or all of the five contest themes
suggested here.

Contest Themes
Theme 1. H
 ealthcare: Making healthcare accessible and affordable for every Indian.
Theme 2. Energy: Efficient energy generation and conservation to meet India’s
demand-supply gap
Theme 3. W ater: Ensure the availability of potable drinking water to every Indian with
minimal impact on the water table
Theme 4. E ducation: Improving general literacy levels, school enrolments and functional
and occupational literacy in India in a commercially viable manner.
Theme 5. F ood: Overcoming the impending food crisis through efficient storage,
processing and preventing wastage of farm produce.

Contest Categories
Category 1. International Segment
Open to Foreign citizens only
Category 2. National Segment
Open to Indian citizens only

Prizes
• Two winners in each Contest Theme in each Contest Category:
(A total of ten winners in each Contest Category. Twenty winners in all.)
• O ne Grand Prize winner to be declared under each Contest Category:
Grand Prize - cash prize of US$ 35000
• A fifteen day all-expenses-paid vacation to select destinations in India for all winners.
• 4-week internship for the Grand Prize winners in leading Indian and transnational
companies for 10 winners.
• Presentations to venture capitalists, angel investors, mentors/incubators
for all 20 winners.
• Top 20 entries to be exhibited at the INDIA Future of Change Showcase
at the Kirchner Museum, Davos, Switzerland, January 26-30, 2011 on the sidelines
of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Rules of Participation
Eligibility
• Entry to the contest is open to all students.
• The participant must ensure he/she registers and submits his plan in the correct
category, i.e. International or National segment of the Business Plan Contest.
Submission in an incorrect category will lead to disqualification.
• The participant must be an enrolled student in any school/college/institute
and be above 18 years or under 32 years of age as on 31 December 2010.
• Participation is open to teams and individual submissions.
In the case of team participation, team size must not exceed 4 members.
• Submitted plans must be original and not currently in execution.
• Plans entered previously in other competitions are not eligible for entry
and will face immediate disqualification.

Technical Criteria
1. To qualify for the contest, the proposed business plan must be financially sustainable /
profitable. It must be scalable and have potential for growth. It must have a quantifiable
social and / or environmental bottom-line incorporated into its mission and practices.
2. The proposed venture must not be a wholly-owned subsidiary of an existing entity.
3. Submissions may be entrepreneurial and explore the creation of new ideas.
Entries may include Leveraged Buyouts, Recapitalizations, Restructurings,
Privatizations, Roll-Ups, Certain Licensing or Franchise arrangements, Joint Ventures,
Alliances and Search Funds.
4. The business plan must include a financial analysis as well as a Social Impact
Assessment (SIA) which includes DEFINITION of the Social Value Proposition;
QUANTIFICATION of the top three social indicators; and MONETIZATION
or Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis.
5. Those unsure of their idea’s eligibility must contact the Organizing Committee
for clarification.
6. Ideas based on academic research must mention sources.
Strict confidentiality will be maintained.

Process of Submission
• All submissions must be made online through www.indiafutureofchange.com
No physical prints will be accepted.
• All submissions must carry a proof to identify the contestant as a student.
• The business plans can be uploaded as Power Point presentations (.ppt format)
or converted to Adobe Reader’s PDF format.
• An entry (inclusive of all files submitted) should not exceed 10 MB.
• The presentations should not be marked with any form of identification
(name, logo, etc.). Entries will be disqualified if they are marked.
• All submissions must carry an accompanying Letter of Acknowledgement,
giving credit to information sources, image resources etc., wherever applicable.
• All entries must be submitted in the form of a business proposal along with supporting
documents, acknowledgements and bibliography wherever necessary.
• Entries must be accompanied by a Team Profile mentioning clearly the role of each
member in the project. The contribution of the students from participating schools
 must be stated in detail.
• Th
 e business plan should be submitted electronically
to [email protected]
by 15 December, 2010, 12.00 hrs GMT.

Rights and Reproduction

1. Participants who receive funding for their ideas at any time during the competition
must disclose that fact once they have secured a formal commitment from the investor.
2. All cash generated during the time of the competition in the form of sales revenues
or contracts, research grants and personal or family funds must be disclosed.
Confidentiality will be maintained.
3. Ventures that have already received outside investment from venture capital firms,
private investors or industry sources may be considered ineligible to compete and
should contact the Organizing Committee.
4. All submissions to the IndiA Future of Change contest series will be, for exhibition
or publication purposes, the property of the Organizers. The Organizing Committee
retains the right to publish the business plan ideas and information associated with
them and the participants in all communication exercises related to India Future
of Change.
5. The Organizers or any employee or agent of the Organizers will NOT be liable for:
(a) any costs incurred or loss or liability suffered by the participants in relation to the
program
(b) any lost expectation of profits by participant
(c) any failure by participant to understand their rights in relation to Intellectual
Property, or the rights of The Organizers in relation to Intellectual Property
(d) any other benefit applicants may expect to gain by participating in the program.
6. The Organizers may change the Terms and Conditions of participation at any time
without specific notice. The amended Terms and Conditions of Entry will be effective
immediately upon being posted on the Website. Important changes to the Terms
and Conditions will be highlighted on www.indiafutureofchange.com for your
convenience; however, you acknowledge that it is your sole responsibility to regularly
visit www.indiafutureofchange.com to read any changes to the Terms and Conditions
of Entry.
7. Disputes, if any, are subject to the jurisdiction in the courts of Delhi only.

Selection Criteria
The entries will be judged on the relevance and the quality of perspective presented
within the context of the contest theme.
• Entries will be short-listed based on adherence to clauses mentioned under ‘Eligibility’
and ‘Technical Criteria’. Also, there will be weightage for overall merit of the idea.
• Entries will be evaluated on criteria pertinent to the contest’s themes.
There is no single standard matrix of criteria to be imposed on all entries, thereby
granting greater creative freedom to participants.
• Emphasis will be laid on the participants’ conviction of the idea and the thoroughness
of research and understanding of the plan and its context.
• India Future of Change may at any time and for any reason:
(a) disqualify a participant from the program if the evaluation panel or the Grand Jury
in their absolute discretion, determine that such disqualification is warranted
(b) discontinue the program by posting a notice to that effect
on www.indiafutureofchange.com
Important Dates
Registration and Submission
• Registration opens on 15 September 2010, 0900 hrs GMT
• Registration closes on 2 December 2010, 1200 hrs GMT
• Submission closes on 15 December 2010, 1200 hrs GMT

Declaration of Results
• Top ten winners in each of the categories will be announced by January 15, 2011.
• The Grand Prizes will be announced in March, 2011 during the Valedictory function
in New Delhi. Exact date of the function will be communicated to the winners
in January, 2011.

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