Dare to Dream 2.0: DRDO launches innovation contest in honour of Dr Abdul Kalam

the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. Known as the Missile Man of India, the celebrated aerospace and defence scientist always envisioned self-reliance, the statement added. The scheme was announced by Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh.

DRDO’s Dare to Dream 2.0: What it is about

According to the statement, the innovation contest was launched to promote individuals as well as startups to use emerging technologies for innovation in aerospace and defence sectors in the country. This scheme, the statement said, would give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or self-reliant India.

The contest is an open challenge in which innovators and startups can participate. The contest would be judged by an expert committee, based on whose assessment, the winners would be decided.

DRDO Innovation Contest: Prize

While the intricate details of the contest are still unknown, the Ministry of Defence did reveal the award money for the contest.

The individual winner of the contest would be awarded with a prize money of Rs 5 lakh, while the winning startup would receive Rs 10 lakh as the award money.

DRDO Contest: What it aims to achieve

According to a dedicated website of the DRDO launched in 2018, the Dare to Dream contest aims to find disruptive ideas as well as concepts in emerging technologies that the DRDO could use to enhance the defence capabilities of the country.

The first edition of the contest held by the defence organisation was organised in January 2019 and it had ended in March last year. While the eligibility criteria for the second edition of the contest is not known, last year, the contest was open to individuals who were above the age of 18 and Indian citizens, and to startups that were controlled by Indians and were recognised by the DIPP.

The entire concept of the contest pivots around the phrase “The Kalam Vision”. A significant portion of Dr Kalam’s career was spent while working at the DRDO, and he also headed the organisation. He played a key role in the development of the Indian Missile Programme and was also the Chief Project Coordinator, along with Dr R Chidambaram for the Pokhran II missile testing phase, which was a significant development in India’s nuclear programme. Ever an advocate of having dreams, Kalam brought significant changes to India’s defence and aerospace programmes due to his vision and it is seemingly this vision of innovation that the DRDO is honouring during such contests.