MeitY Launches NIDAR 2.0 to Build Indigenous Drones on India's VEGA Chip
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with Drone Federation India (DFI), on Monday (July 13, 2026) launched the second edition of the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR 2.0, 2026-27) under the SwaYaan initiative. The challenge shifts focus from drone applications to indigenous drone electronics and autonomous systems, with a prize pool of about Rs 65 lakh. Launching it, MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said, "NIDAR 2.0 takes our students from just flying drones to building the drone's brain," adding that running drones on India's own VEGA processor lays the foundation of a self-reliant drone industry. Under the Drone Innovation track, student teams will build autonomous swarm drones capable of locating survivors and delivering medical supplies in disaster-hit areas without external communication networks, and develop GPS-denied drones for indoor industrial inspections.
Key Facts & Details
9 points- 1MeitY, with Drone Federation India (DFI), launched NIDAR 2.0 (2026-27) on July 13, 2026.
- 2NIDAR stands for the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research, run under the SwaYaan initiative.
- 3The challenge focuses on indigenous drone electronics and autonomous systems built on India's VEGA processor.
- 4It carries a prize pool of about Rs 65 lakh for participating student teams.
- 5MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said the challenge takes students from flying drones to building the drone's 'brain'.
- 6Teams will build autonomous swarm drones for disaster response and GPS-denied drones for indoor industrial inspection.
Deep Dive
- +NIDAR 2.0 is the second edition of the challenge, marking a shift from drone applications to indigenous drone electronics and autonomous systems.
- +The swarm drones are designed to locate survivors and deliver medical supplies in disaster areas without external communication networks.
- +The initiative supports India's push for a self-reliant semiconductor and drone industry by embedding the home-grown VEGA chip into drone systems.
Exam Focus
Examiners may ask what NIDAR stands for, the ministry and partner behind it (MeitY and Drone Federation India), the indigenous chip used (VEGA), the parent initiative (SwaYaan), or the prize pool.
Related Topics
Exam Relevance & Angle
Indigenous technology and self-reliance initiatives are recurring science-and-technology GA items. The link between MeitY, NIDAR 2.0, the VEGA processor and the SwaYaan initiative packages a cluster of testable names around India's drone and semiconductor self-reliance push.
Target Exams
Background & Context
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) drives India's digital and electronics policy, including semiconductor and drone-technology promotion. The VEGA processor is an indigenous microprocessor family developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) based on the open RISC-V architecture, part of India's effort to reduce dependence on foreign chip designs. Drone Federation India (DFI) is an industry body representing drone companies and operators. A swarm drone system coordinates multiple autonomous drones to act together, useful in disaster response, while GPS-denied navigation lets drones operate indoors or where satellite signals are unavailable. Such challenges aim to nurture student innovation aligned with the Atmanirbhar Bharat self-reliance goal.
Test Yourself
1 / 2The NIDAR 2.0 challenge launched by MeitY promotes drones built on which indigenous processor?
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