About U K Gupta Excellence Award

Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA) is pleased to announce and invite nominations for the second edition of its industry award “U K Gupta Excellence Award 2025” in the honour of its founding president, Late Mr. U K Gupta. The awards are designed to promote innovation, development, and recognition of excellence in the authentication and traceability industry. The award will be presented at the 6th Traceability and Authentication Forum (TAF) scheduled on 17th - 18th March 2025 at Hotel Eros, New Delhi, India..

Mr. U K Gupta passed away on June 1, 2021, and is regarded as an industry veteran, reservoir of knowledge, and pioneer of the authentication industry in India. As a founding President of ASPA, he always had a great dream about the future of the authentication and traceability ecosystem in India and its role in combating the menace of counterfeiting. During his lifetime, he was accoladed with various awards, including the ET Lifetime Achievement Award, and became the first Asian to be awarded the prestigious Brian Monaghan Award from the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA). A serial entrepreneur, Mr. U K Gupta, ASPA founding members, and founder President, created various successful businesses in his lifetime and was the Chairman of the Holostik Group.

The purpose of the Award is to establish a system of appreciation and recognition of excellence within the industry. The awards will acknowledge and celebrate innovation in authentication and traceability design & implementation. We are inviting innovations developed by the applicant’s own R&D or commercially implemented in the market.

Award Categories

There are a total of three (3) award categories.
One (1) winner and One (1) runner-up will be awarded in each category. Kindly read the categories, eligibility, application process, and timeline very carefully before applying.

Category 1: Innovation in Physical Authentication: Includes innovations in security features, substrates, or new printing techniques that offer significant technical improvement in authentication or new technical ideas or methods of how something is done in the Anti-counterfeiting industry. The innovation should be significantly different or demonstrate important improvements compared to existing features or products.

Category 2: Innovation in Digital Authentication or Traceability: Includes innovations in digital technologies, solutions, or systems offering significant technical improvement or software development in authentication or traceability or new technical ideas or methods of how something is done in the industry.

Category 3: Innovation in Phygital Authentication: Includes innovations in product technologies and building a combination of physical and digital authentication and traceability technologies, solutions, and systems with brands or government organizations.

Participation And Eligibility Criteria

The entry submitted for the Award must fulfil the following criteria.
1.The award entries are open to ASPA members only.
2.The product or innovation submitted does not need to have been commercially implemented at the time of submission. However, please note that commercially implemented projects will be given preference in the judging criteria.
3. Previously submitted projects will not be considered for the 2nd edition of UK Gupta Excellence Awards 2025..
4. One can apply in multiple categories, but each entry must be submitted separately. The same product or project cannot be submitted in multiple categories.
5. Submitters undertake that all information on this form is true and accurate. There are no false claims for credit and all contributors are acknowledged.
6. Entries can be resubmitted, provided that the previous submission did not win an award and has been through upgrades in terms of functionality, the introduction of new / ‘smart’ elements, and overall structural changes to address new customer requirements or earlier limitations.
7. The jury reserves the right to assess the extent of any submitted upgrades that make the product eligible for an award.

Why should you apply?

All the applicants and especially winners of Awards will benefit in multiple ways. The following are the benefits offered: To Winners and Runners-Up:

To Winners and Runners-Up:
1. Award Insignia Winners will get Award insignia to brand their product/service, which can be added in promotional material, embedded on the product, and the product packaging.
2. Display All awards entries will be displayed at the Authentication & Traceability Forum subject to the actual product provided by the awardee. (In case the participant doesn’t want it to be displayed please inform ASPA Secretariat in advance.)
3. Publicity The organizers will promote the Awards and winning entries through ASPA social media platforms and its publications in The Authentication Times.
4. Online Winners will be featured on the award portal.
5. Award Ceremony Winners will be presented with the awards at the Authentication Forum Summit.
6. Certificate & Trophy Winners will be awarded a certificate and a trophy and will be encouraged to use this prestigious award in their marketing material. To all shortlisted applicants’ entries for submission:

7. Complimentary Access at Authentication and Traceability Forum One complimentary delegate pass per company to attend the conference for those who have not registered for the conference.

Timelines

• Launch Date: January 24, 2025
• Last date for Submission: February 28, 2025
• Award evaluation: March 7, 2025
• Notification to applicants: March 10, 2025
• Awards announcement: At the Traceability and Authentication Forum 2025, 17th - 18th March 2025 at Hotel Eros, New Delhi, India.

How To Apply

Step 1 – Read all the instructions carefully.
• Please read all the instructions clearly on the website.
• New applications can be made by the authorized representative of the company/organization only.
• To download a blank application form, click here. The blank application form is for reference only. The actual application is to be filled online.
• Information may be kept ready for online submission.
• Submissions should be clear, concise, and persuasive.
• 4 - 8 PNG/JPEG images and award artwork must be prepared for the entry.
• *Each image no bigger than 3 MB in file size.
• A video of not more than 2 mins length may be prepared for the entry.
• The video may the period, salient features, success, etc. For their entry.
• Video may be uploaded on YouTube or on a similar platform and URL of the same to be shared. Post submission video cannot be changed.
• Jury will not consider anything mentioned on the video beyond the 2-minute mark.
• The images and video URL may be kept ready to be uploaded to the application form.
• The applicant’s name or other awards won by the project should not be mentioned in the images and video, to conduct an unbiased judgment.
• Applicants can save progress as they proceed with filling the application form.
• Application can be changed till the last date of submission i.e. February 28, 2025. (Latest submitted application will be considered as the final one)
• The participant of Category 1 and Category 3 should send 5 sets of physical samples with the required explanation of the features and key differentiators (USP) in sealed envelopes marked to Pradeep at the ASPA Secretariat Office in Nehru Place, New Delhi by the deadline. Also send the soft copy of the presentation, video to the ASPA Secretariat email id ([email protected])
• The participant of Category 2 can apply by emailing the required content to the ASPA Secretariat email id ( [email protected] )
• All entries and information would be kept confidential and would only be shared with the judges and no other GB members.
Step 2 – Apply
• To apply, please use the link to submit your award entry. There is no application fee. If you experience any difficulties, please email the ASPA Secretariat at [email protected] for assistance.

Jury And Evaluation

1. Evaluation criteria for the award entries will include*:

• Each application will be assigned to a panel of eminent jury members.
• The Jury members will evaluate the applications.
• ASPA will inform the applicants over email about the acceptance or rejection of their entry.
• The Jury members would be independent of the Governing Body of ASPA.

Evaluation Criteria for Award Entries:
A. Creativity and Innovation
•This criterion focuses on design excellence, originality, and uniqueness. It considers innovation in technology, materials, or processes, as well as the aesthetic appeal and novel approach of the solution.
B. Effectiveness and Impact
•This criterion assesses the solution’s practical value and measurable outcomes. It includes aspects such as ease of use for consumers in identifying counterfeits, proven effectiveness in addressing counterfeiting challenges, scalability of implementation, and overall impact on the problem.

Terms & Conditions

• ASPA reserves the right to refuse entry of products or services that do not comply with any or all applicable eligibility criteria.
• The applicant can withdraw the application at any time during the award process.
• If the applicant fails to exhibit the physical material for jury evaluation, the entry will be judged based on available application information.
• Information supplied within or in relation to the application must be real, correct, and complete. Please note that all personal or sensitive information will be treated as confidential.
• Claims made by the applicant such as “unique”, “world first”, “one of a kind” or “owned by” must be substantiated. The Awards reserves the right to request further evidence such as records of all applicable patents, trademarks, design registrations, or intellectual property ownership.
• The organizer may withdraw the award at any time, even after it being granted if it is found that the information supplied was incorrect.
• The decision of the jury is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
• All submission material and accompanying documentation must be clearly written in the English language.
• The entry and accompanying documentation, including images, must be made available for use by the organizers in publicity material, exhibitions, etc. Please note that images might be supplied to the media for publication to further promote the entry and the Awards. By applying for the award, the applicant grants the ASPA (publishers of The Authentication Times® and organizers of Traceability and Authentication Forum™) and their agents and collaborators, permission to reproduce by photographic, print, or electronic methods (excluding holographic methods) the hologram(s) and other materials which are the subject of this application only for the purposes of promoting the Awards, the ASPA, and The Authentication News®.
• Product samples might undergo internal inspections or tests and might therefore be dismantled. Every effort will be made to rebuild product samples to their original state prior to return; however, the organizer accepts no responsibility for failure to do so.
• Please be aware that the ASPA, its employees, and contractors accept no responsibility for any damage or loss caused to any submission material during transportation, handling, or storage, and that packaging, transportation, and insurance of any submission material are the responsibility of the applicant. Due to the highly fragile nature of some submission materials, please be aware that damage or loss might occur. Insurance to cover damage or loss should be considered if the value of the item is desirable.