Student gets Rs 3.5 cr grant from govt: Meet Hamirpur’s Sarvesh Sharma, who built Army drone designed to evade enemy radar & resist jamming attempts

A student from Government Polytechnic College in Hamirpur has secured a Rs 3.5-crore grant from the Ministry of Defence to develop an advanced drone designed to evade enemy radar detection and withstand jamming attempts, officials said on Tuesday.

Sarvesh Sharma’s project was approved under the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiatives. He will now work on developing the drone for potential use by the Indian Army in border surveillance.

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Hamirpur student develops drone for Army surveillance

Sharma’s project follows his participation in a national-level ‘Open Cardboard Drone Competition’ organised by IIT Jodhpur and the Konark Corps.

The competition brought together 50 teams from educational institutions across India, with participants presenting drone-based innovations. Discussions during the event also focused on challenges faced by the Army in monitoring and securing border areas.

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Sharma’s team finished fourth in the competition and received a prize of Rs 10 lakh.

The experience encouraged him to work on a prototype aimed at addressing some of the surveillance challenges discussed during the event.

Rs 87,000 prototype led to Defence Ministry grant

Sharma subsequently developed a prototype drone at a cost of around Rs 87,000.

He later submitted a proposal under the Ministry of Defence’s DIO and iDEX programmes. The proposal was approved on Monday, paving the way for further development of the technology with government support.

The project will focus on the development of the ‘Rudra Edge T-1 (Spectra)’ drone.

Rudra Edge T-1 drone to be developed at IIT Roorkee

The proposed drone is expected to support the Army in border surveillance while incorporating capabilities aimed at avoiding enemy radar detection and resisting electronic jamming attempts.

As part of the project, an incubation centre has been established at IIT Roorkee. Sharma will carry out the development work in a laboratory at the institute.

The Ministry of Defence has provided a 20-day window for completing the formalities associated with the project.

Sharma is expected to complete the development of the Rudra Edge T-1 (Spectra) within 20 months.

Inputs from PTI