For Sarvesh Sharma, a fifth-semester Computer Science student at Government Polytechnic College, Hamirpur, a drone that cost around Rs 87,000 to build has now opened the door to a Rs 3.5-crore defence project.
The Himachal Pradesh student has secured a grant from the Ministry of Defence to develop the indigenous Rudra Edge T-1 (Spectra) drone for the Indian Army. The project is aimed at border surveillance and is being developed under the Defence Innovation Organisation and Innovations for Defence Excellence programmes.
IT STARTED WITH A DRONE COMPETITION
Sarvesh’s break came after he participated in a national-level Open Cardboard Drone Competition organised by IIT Jodhpur and the Konark Corps.
Around 50 teams from institutions across India took part. Sarvesh’s team finished fourth and received a Rs 10-lakh prize. During the competition, discussions around challenges faced by the Army in border surveillance gave him an idea for a more specialised drone.
He subsequently built a prototype at a cost of about Rs 87,000 and applied for a project under the Defence Innovation Organisation and iDEX. The proposal was then approved for the Rs 3.5-crore grant.
FROM HAMIRPUR TO AN IIT ROORKEE LAB
The next stage of Sarvesh’s project will take him beyond his polytechnic campus.
An incubation centre has been established at IIT Roorkee for the project, where Sarvesh is expected to work in a laboratory at the institute. The target is to complete the Rudra Edge T-1 (Spectra) project within 20 months.
The proposed drone is intended for border surveillance, with reported design goals including avoiding enemy radar detection and resisting electronic jamming. These are development targets, however, and its final capabilities will only be known after the drone is built and tested.
A GOVERNMENT SCHOOL STUDENT FROM BAHANVI
Sarvesh comes from Bahanvi village in Hamirpur and studied at the local government school before joining Government Polytechnic College.
According to The Tribune, his father, Sanjeev Kumar, is a daily-wage labourer and his mother is a homemaker.
His achievement was recognised by Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta on September 23. The Governor felicitated Sarvesh and discussed the drone’s features, the challenges involved and his plans for developing indigenous drone technology.
For Sarvesh, the journey now moves from a low-cost prototype built by a polytechnic student to a government-backed defence technology project, with an IIT Roorkee laboratory as the next stop.
– Ends