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MeitY Unveils NIDAR 2.0 to Power Drones with Indigenous Chips

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched NIDAR 2.0, a national hackathon programme to design drones and flight controllers powered by the indigenous VEGA microchip, targeting autonomous swarm coordination and GPS-denied navigation for disaster relief and industrial inspection. The initiative aligns with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat and India Semiconductor Mission goals, offering ₹65 lakh in prizes plus incubation and industry connections to commercialise solutions.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Semiconductors, Drones & UAV and AI Agents. Wire is Fusion42's founder-focused intelligence feed: each story is connected to the funds and startups it names — every one with a live profile on Raise or Scout — so founders can follow the capital and the momentum behind the headline rather than just the headline itself. Wire analysis is one of the live surfaces Arthur, Fusion42's AI co-founder, reasons over.

The Wire takeaway

If you build drone autonomy, swarm coordination, or GPS-denied navigation, India just created a funded buyer for your tech—and locked you into an indigenous chip mandate. The ₹65 lakh prize and commercialisation pathway exist; the constraint is that VEGA is now non-negotiable.

Read the full story at bisinfotech.com

Topics: Semiconductors · Drones & UAV · AI Agents · domestic-semiconductors · drone-autonomy · gps-denied-navigation · swarm-tech · india-supply-chain

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Verified 17 July 2026 · Sources: Fusion42 review