ENA Sectors 2025-03-19 15:24:16 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Mar 19 (KNN)</strong> The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Drone Federation of India (DFI), has launched NIDAR&mdash;the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research&mdash;under the SwaYaan initiative.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The launch event took place at Electronics Niketan, MeitY, and was attended by government officials, industry experts, and students nationwide via video conferencing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY; T. G. Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE; and Smit Shah, President, DFI, formally inaugurated the challenge.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The event featured the unveiling of a concept video, the launch of the competition website (https://nidar.org.in), and the release of the official NIDAR poster and rulebook.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">NIDAR, part of MeitYs SwaYaan initiative, aims to train professionals in the drone sector by 2027 through 1,500+ activities across five technical areas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The initiative aligns with the Government of India's vision to establish India as a global drone hub by 2030. DFI, representing over 550 drone companies and 5,500 drone pilots, will provide mentorship and industry exposure to participants.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The competition is expected to attract over 100 student teams from technical institutions, where they will develop collaborative autonomous drones for object detection and autonomous delivery.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">This year's problem statements focus on disaster management (scout &amp; delivery drones) and precision agriculture (scan &amp; spray drones).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">NIDAR offers a total prize pool of Rs 40 lakhs, along with opportunities for startup incubation, cloud credits, and internships at leading drone companies.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Highlighting the impact of drones, officials cited their use during recent floods in Vijayawada for delivering essential supplies.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Smit Shah emphasised that initiatives like NIDAR will drive innovation, strengthen India's drone ecosystem, and nurture talent for the aerospace and defence sectors.</span></p> <p><em><strong><span style="font-size:14px">(KNN Bureau)</span></strong></em></p> 41445 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/meity-and-dfi-launch-nidar-challenge-to-boost-indias-drone-industry 2025-03-19 15:24:16 knnindia.co.in