MeitY Launches NIDAR 2.0 to Accelerate Indigenous Drone Innovation

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) collaborated with the Drone Federation India (DFI), and launched the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR 2.0) for 2026-27 under the SwaYaan initiative. It was announced on 13th July, 2026, this competition aims to encourage the students to develop advanced autonomous drones and indigenous drone technologies which are powered by India’s homegrown VEGA processor. A prize poll which exceeds around ₹65 lakh, along with the startup incubation, internships and cloud computing support, NIDAR 2.0 seeks to strengthen India’s drone ecosystem and advance the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat @2047.

What Is NIDAR 2.0?

NIDAR (National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research) is MeiTY’s flagship student innovation program, which is designed to promote research, skill development and entrepreneurship in drone technology.

The second edition expands the challenge beyond the drone assembly by encouraging participants to design the core intelligence and control systems which will power autonomous drones.

The program was launched at the Electronics Niketan, New Delhi, in hybrid mode with the participation of students, faculty members, government officials, industry experts and representatives from leading academic institutions.

Key Highlights of NIDAR 2.0

Launched by: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Drone Federation India (DFI)
Programme: NIDAR 2.0 (2026–27)
Under: SwaYaan Initiative
Prize Pool: More than ₹65 lakh
Special Feature: Drones powered by India’s indigenous VEGA processor
Additional Benefits: Startup incubation, internships, cloud credits and software support

This competition focused on to developing the cutting-edge drone technologies and reducing India’s dependence on imported electronics and processor designs.

Two Innovation Tracks Under NIDAR 2.0

The challenge has been divided into two major tracks to encourage both application-level and component-level innovation.

Track 1: Drone Innovation

Student teams will design fully autonomous drones capable of to performing complex real-world missions.

The challenge includes the,

Autonomous swarm drones for the disaster response
Locating survivors in disaster-hit areas
Delivering medical supplies without external communication networks
GPS-denied indoor navigation for industrial inspection
Autonomous decision-making capabilities

These tasks simulate the real operational environments where communication networks or GPS signals may not be available.

Track 2: Component Innovation

The second track focuses on to building India’s indigenous drone electronics ecosystem.

Participants must develop the,

Indigenous flight controllers
Autopilot systems
Drone control electronics
Systems powered by the VEGA processor
Components using Indian electronic hardware

After the technical evaluation, the top 100 teams will receive the two VEGA processor development kits for testing, integration and prototype development.

What Is the VEGA Processor?

A major highlight of the NIDAR 2.0 is the use of the VEGA processor, it is an indigenous family of microprocessors which are developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the MeitY’s Microprocessor Development Programme.

The processor is also based on the open-standard RISC-V architecture, and it allows India to reduce dependence on foreign processor designs and expensive licensing fees.

By integrating the VEGA into drone control systems, India aims to build a self-reliant semiconductor and drone ecosystem.

Attractive Rewards for Participants

To encourage the innovation beyond the competition, NIDAR 2.0 offers extensive support to winning teams.

Benefits Include,

Prize money exceeding ₹65 lakh
Startup incubation support
Corporate internships
Cloud computing credits
Software development support
Opportunities to commercialise prototypes

These incentives are also designed to help to students transform innovative ideas into market-ready products.

About the SwaYaan Initiative

NIDAR operates under the SwaYaan (Capacity Building for Human Resource Development in Unmanned Aircraft Systems), it is a flagship initiative which was approved by MeitY in July 2022.

The program has a total outlay of around ₹89.87 crore over five years.

Objectives of SwaYaan