How to enter / Documents you need

Documents you need

Your entry fee depends on what your organisation is, and for companies on turnover. These documents prove that, and they prove the results you claim. Gather them before you start, so the entry takes twenty minutes rather than two weeks.

Documents are checked by the secretariat during eligibility screening, before the jury sees anything. Jurors never see fee or payment information. Nothing you attach is published.

Proof of who you are

Mandatory means the entry will not pass screening without it. Where alternatives are listed, any one of them is enough.

Government bodies and public utilities No entry fee

Mandatory

Letter on department, board or corporation letterhead, signed by an officer not below Executive Engineer or equivalent, confirming the entity and the project entered
Copy of the sanction order, work order or government order for the project

Notes and alternatives

No GST, PAN or turnover proof is needed
A departmental email from an official domain is accepted in place of the letterhead if the signatory is named

Individuals and researchers Individual rate

Mandatory

Government photo identity: Aadhaar, passport or driving licence
Where the work was done under an institution, a letter from the Head of Department or Registrar confirming the role

Notes and alternatives

Aadhaar may be masked, only the last four digits need be visible
Independent practitioners may attach a short professional profile instead of the institution letter

NGOs and not-for-profits NGO rate

Mandatory

Registration certificate: Societies Registration Act, Trust Deed or Section 8 incorporation
Latest audited accounts or annual report

Notes and alternatives

12A or 80G certificate strengthens the entry but is not required
FCRA registration only if the project entered used foreign funding

Academic institutions Academic rate

Mandatory

Letter from the Registrar, Principal or Director confirming the institution is entering
UGC, AICTE or state recognition, or the affiliation letter

Notes and alternatives

A department may enter in its own name provided the Registrar letter names it

Start-ups, DPIIT-recognised Start-up rate

Mandatory

DPIIT recognition certificate showing the recognition number
Certificate of Incorporation from the MCA showing the date of incorporation

Notes and alternatives

Without DPIIT recognition, attach the Certificate of Incorporation and a CA turnover certificate. The entry then sits in the company band matching that turnover
The incorporation date decides eligibility, not the launch date of the product

Companies and large enterprises By turnover band

Mandatory

Certificate of Incorporation
GST registration certificate showing the GSTIN
PAN of the entity
Turnover proof for the last completed financial year, see below

Notes and alternatives

Partnership or LLP: Partnership Deed or LLP incorporation in place of the Certificate of Incorporation
Proprietorship: GST certificate plus PAN of the proprietor
A company with no GST registration must state why in writing

Turnover proof, companies only

Turnover decides which company band applies, so this is the document that decides your fee. Any one of these is accepted, for the last completed financial year.

Document	What it must show
Turnover certificate from a Chartered Accountant	On firm letterhead, signed and stamped, carrying the UDIN, stating the financial year and the turnover figure. This is the option we prefer.
Audited financial statements	Balance sheet and profit and loss account for the last completed financial year, with the auditor report. The revenue line must be legible.
Income tax return acknowledgement	ITR-V acknowledgement with the computation page showing gross receipts or turnover.
Annual report extract	Listed companies only. The page showing revenue, together with the cover page.

The turnover of the legal entity entering applies, not the group. Foreign entrants attach the equivalent statutory filing from their home country, with the figure converted at the RBI reference rate on the last day of that financial year. If the proof shows a higher band than the one paid for, the difference is invoiced before the entry reaches the jury. If it shows a lower band, the difference is refunded.

Letters

Templates for all four are in the entry pack. Copy each onto your own letterhead, fill in the bracketed fields, sign and stamp, then attach as PDF.

Letter	Required	Who signs
Entry authorisation letter	Every entry	Managing Director, Chief Executive, Commissioner or Head of the organisation. Confirms the organisation is entering, names the categories and authorises the person submitting.
Project owner declaration	Every entry	The department head or project lead who owns the work. Confirms the figures claimed are accurate and how they were measured.
Client or beneficiary reference	Where a result is claimed for a third party	A named person at the organisation that received the work. Cannot be an employee of the applicant, or of its parent or subsidiary.
Technical or partner reference	Technology claims, otherwise at finalist stage	A partner, integrator, testing laboratory or academic collaborator who can speak to the technical claim.

Evidence the jury scores against

Six criteria, each easier to score when something supports it.

Criterion	Useful evidence
Innovation 20%	Patent or application number, design registration, drawings, a note on what existed before and what is different
Impact 20%	Before and after figures with the measurement method, meter readings, laboratory test reports, third-party verification, dated photographs
Sustainability 20%	Energy or chemical consumption data, lifecycle or payback calculation, compliance certificates, ESG or BRSR extract
Scalability 15%	Evidence of a second site or second client, a replication plan, unit economics
Execution 15%	Commissioning or completion certificate, uptime or performance data, timeline against plan
Stakeholder engagement 10%	Letters from the community or client, training records, photographs, who owns the outcome after handover

File rules

FormatPDF for documents, JPG or PNG for photographs. One file per document.

SizeUp to 15 MB per file. Compress scans rather than splitting them.

NamingName each file for what it is, for example "CA turnover certificate FY2025-26.pdf".

SignaturesLetters signed and stamped. A digital signature is accepted.

DatesRegistration documents may be of any date. Letters must be dated within three months of the entry.

LanguageEnglish, or the original with an English translation attached.

VideoLink only, YouTube or Vimeo. Do not upload video files.

Sensitive pagesMark anything commercially sensitive and we will redact it before the jury sees it.

If something is missing

1We email you listing exactly what is missing

2You have seven days to upload it, and the entry stays in the process

3After seven days the entry is withdrawn from scoring, and the fee is not refunded

Enquire about categories Fees and timeline

Not sure which documents apply to you? Write to enquiry@eawater.comor call +91 96677 32344 and we will tell you before you pay anything.