DRDO’s Dare to Dream Contest Open to Individuals & Startups; Prize Worth Rs 10 Lakh

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is conducting the Dare to Dream 3.0 contest for individuals and startups. This is a tribute to former President and eminent scientist, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Things to know:

• This is the third edition of the contest. The previous two editions were met with huge success.
• The objective of this contest is to provide a platform for innovators in order to unearth their disruptive ideas and concepts. Enhancing the defence capabilities is the end goal of this contest.
• In order to participate, individuals applying must be above 18 years of age.
• Startups participating in this contest should be owned by Indians and recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• The entries will be screened in a two-pronged manner. They will first be screened by a domain expert committee and then a short-listing and ranking process will be carried out by an independent expert committee.

Application details:

• Eligible and interested individuals and start-ups must send in their application form only via the online mode.
• An individual who is also running a startup can apply under both categories.
• Selection of the challenges you wish to tackle must be submitted beforehand.
• An individual or start-up can choose to tackle up to five challenges.
• The proposal being submitted must be in English or Hindi.
• No reference to the identity of the person submitting the proposal must be made. If done, the application is liable to be rejected.
• Only winners will be intimated via email or the official website.
• Online applications have opened since 4 October 2021 and will close on 1 December 2021.
• All expenses relating to the contest shall be borne by the individuals or startups.
• In case the participant wins this contest, their PAN card must be furnished to be able to claim the prize money.
• This contest is not open to DRDO employees and their family members.

List of areas for the contest:

• Remote detection and protection of CBRNE agents
• Development of underwater communication systems
• Smart batteries and self-healing batteries for military applications
• Defence on cloud (blockchain technology, IoT, ML, AI)
• Cognitive technologies for sensing and adaptation
• Shockwave applications for defence
•  Innovative ideas for anti-drone
• Technology ideas for soldiers as a system
• Non-line of sight optical imaging
• Open category: Exploring the unthinkable and unimaginable

Award details:

1st prize – Rs 5 lakh for individual entries and Rs 10 lakh for startups
2nd prize – Rs 4 lakh for individual entries and Rs 8 lakh for startups
3rd prize – Rs 3 lakh for individual entries and Rs 6 lakh for startups

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For more details on the contest, click here.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)