NIDAR 2.0 and SwaYaan Initiative for Drone Innovation
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Why in News
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the second edition of the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR 2.0) for 2026-27.
- MeitY organized this national hackathon competition in partnership with the Drone Federation of India (DFI).
About NIDAR 2.0
- NIDAR 2.0 is a national hackathon where engineering students build autonomous drone software and hardware components.
- The challenge moves away from pre-built airframes to focus on indigenous avionics, secure drone intelligence, and microchips.
- This platform operates as the flagship initiative under MeitY's broader SwaYaan Capacity Building initiative.
- The main aim is to build a self-reliant drone industry by manufacturing drone intelligence inside India.
Key Operational Features of NIDAR 2.0
- Track 1 focuses on system level drone innovation where students solve operational problems using autonomous systems.
- Under Track 1, teams build autonomous swarms for disaster zones that can find survivors and deliver medical aid without cellular networks.
- Track 1 also includes developing drones that can navigate dark indoor spaces for industrial inspections without using GPS.
- Track 2 challenges teams to build hardware components like flight controllers using domestic electronic components.
- The hardware design must use the open-standard VEGA microprocessor developed by C-DAC.
- The top 100 selected teams will each receive two free VEGA processor development kits for prototype programming.
- The initiative offers expanded incubation support and a total financial reward pool of over ₹65 lakh.
About the SwaYaan Initiative
- SwaYaan is a comprehensive multi-year capacity-building program launched by the central government.
- It aims to build a skilled workforce and advance research in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
- MeitY formally approved the SwaYaan initiative in July 2022.
- The initiative trains engineers, technicians, and researchers to meet the growing demands of India's drone sector.
Key Institutional Features of the SwaYaan Initiative
- The program operates through a hub-and-spoke network of 30 premier academic and research institutions.
- Participating institutions include IISc, various IITs, IIITs, NITs, C-DAC, and NIELIT centers.
- Training and research cover five themes including aeromechanics, drone electronics, guidance and control algorithms, drone applications, and allied technologies.
- The initiative has successfully trained more than 51,000 individuals across various skill levels.