August 15, 2025: In a bid to accelerate India’s march toward defence self-reliance, IIT Mandi iHub & HCi Foundation has announced a national “Defence-Tech Startup Challenge,” opening on August 15, 2025—timed to the country’s 79th Independence Day. The Section 8 not-for-profit, which runs a Technology Innovation Hub in Human–Computer Interaction, says the programme draws inspiration from recent wartime learnings—specifically the pivotal role homegrown technologies played during Operation Sindhoor—and is designed to turn battlefield needs into deployable products at speed.
What sets this challenge apart is its promise of urgency: selected startups will move through an expedited process, with the first tranche of support targeted within 79 days of selection, subject to due diligence. Beyond grant funding, the hub is offering a suite of enablers—expert mentorship from defence veterans and technologists, product development support, IP assistance, and access to investor networks—aimed at helping young companies cross the fraught gap between prototypes and real-world deployment.
The call comes with a strategic nudge: preference for solutions that maximise indigenous components and avoid Chinese parts, a policy the organisers say is about both security and supply-chain resilience. Researchers with technologies already at higher TRLs are also encouraged; the hub will support them in spinning out startups to carry solutions into the field.
At its core, the programme lays out 13 sharply defined problem statements, plus an open track—each reflecting a live operational pain point, from border surveillance to energy logistics. On the tactical edge, Problem Statement 1 seeks a hand-launched, foldable-wing micro-UAV capable of persistent, low-signature reconnaissance with autonomous return-home, high-resolution EO/IR imaging, and one-person operation—essentially immediate overwatch on demand for forward teams.
The second brief turns to counter-UAS. With FPV threats proliferating, the hub wants a man-portable, battery-powered backpack jammer that can detect, alert and disrupt hostile drones within roughly a 100-metre radius. The emphasis is on modular frequency coverage, intuitive controls and rapid deployment—a field-worthy electronic warfare tool for small units.
Logistics in contested terrain is another thread. A long-range drone with integrated cold chain for blood, vaccines and critical medicines must deliver at least 2 kg across more than 20 km, maintain medical-grade temperatures, and provide live telemetry for both aircraft and cargo—potentially transforming casualty care in austere environments (Problem Statement 3). Complementing that, a dual-power floodlight drone (Problem Statement 4) aims to give commanders an airborne, wide-area lighting solution—battery-operated for autonomous sorties or tethered for continuous perimeter illumination—with encrypted video and autonomous patrol.
On the ground, a terrain-rugged small transport system is sought to haul up to 100 kg across mountainous, non-vehicular zones. The spec points to tracked or wheeled robotic carriers with weatherproofing, obstacle negotiation and modular payload handling—an answer to the age-old resupply dilemma where roads end but missions continue (Problem Statement 5).
Soldier survivability and endurance also feature. A lightweight, breathable exoskeleton should redistribute carried load without hindering mobility, with quick don/doff and long battery life—prioritising comfort and natural movement over lab-bound complexity (Problem Statement 6). Meanwhile, palm-sized perimeter beacons with passive infrared and acoustic sensing are envisioned to mesh into a secure network, distinguish humans from animals on-device, and push instant breach alerts to handhelds—rapid security for irregular outposts (Problem Statement 7).
Medical triage at the front line gets a digital uplift through a combined testing suite that captures vitals—ECG, SpO₂, blood pressure, glucose, temperature and more—and securely streams them in real time to medical command, enabling faster prioritisation under fire (Problem Statement 8). Powering all this is a perennial constraint; the challenge calls for compact, safe, high-energy portable sources using, for example, direct methanol fuel cells or metal-air chemistries, with modularity for quick scaling across devices and small UAVs (Problem Statement 9).
Above the tactical layer, the hub is looking for a software backbone to fuse the battlespace. An AI-powered awareness suite should ingest feeds from drones, satellites, ground sensors and multiple service branches; visualise them in a user-friendly dashboard; and manage secure, prioritised communications—potentially leveraging blockchain or quantum-grade encryption—to speed up decision cycles (Problem Statement 10).
Two additional briefs focus on the often-overlooked plumbing of military readiness: a unified defence asset and fleet management system with predictive maintenance, RFID/QR/GPS-based tracking, mission-aware allocation, and hardened encryption; and a secure, encrypted communications platform—mobile and desktop—for classified document exchange, voice/video, and hierarchical tasking, capable of low-bandwidth operation and outfitted with MFA, role-based access and breach-response features. Together, they aim to replace spreadsheets and patchwork apps with resilient, secure digital infrastructure (Problem Statements 11 and 12).
Finally, the information domain gets a dedicated countermeasure: a multi-modal AI platform to detect and neutralise disinformation and deepfakes in real time, map hostile networks, log incidents tamper-proof, and operate on edge devices in low-connectivity theatres (Problem Statement 13). For ideas that don’t fit a box, an “Open Innovation” track invites startups to define the problem and the pathway themselves—spanning robotics, AI, energy, communications and soldier systems.
Applications are open to startups and advanced research teams ready to build for the field—not the lab. With funding, mentoring, IP support and an aggressive deployment tempo, IIT Mandi iHub & HCi Foundation’s challenge is a clear signal: India wants defence tech that is sovereign, secure and soldier-centric—and it wants it now.
