NIDAR — National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application & Research

NIDAR is a national drone innovation challenge that DFI hosts together with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, under that ministry's SwaYaan initiative. The current edition runs across 2026 and 2027 and sets three problem statements: swarming algorithms for rescue, indoor autonomous flight, and flight control built on an indigenous processor. An earlier edition ran the year before.

Be clear about who it is for before you spend time on it. One line of its marketing invites students, startups and researchers, but its own description of itself, DFI's description of it, and the registration process all point the same way: it is for student and academic teams. Registering requires an institute and a college approval document that the organisers verify, and there is a registration payment step.

What you get

• Prizes for winning teams.
• Mentorship from drone industry experts, and the chance to show work to industry judges.
• Hiring interest from drone companies, which NIDAR names as a headline outcome.

Who can apply

• Student and academic teams, registered through their institute with its approval.

How to apply: Register a team on the NIDAR site. Phase one registration for the current edition opened in April 2026. Questions go to team-nidar@dronefederation.in.