Proud moment for VNIT Nagpur!
Our student team from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur has won the Ignite Prize at the NIDAR Competition — India’s biggest national drone innovation challenge, organized by the Drone Federation of India (DFI) in collaboration with MeitY, Government of India. Outshining 100+ teams from across the country, we secured a spot in the top 5 nationally and bagged ₹1,00,000 cash prize for the Precision Agriculture challenge!
The team built an impressive collaborative dual-drone system that: Autonomously scans a 2-acre field Precisely geotags yellow leaves to detect crop stress Performs targeted pesticide spraying only in affected areas Completes the entire mission in just 20 minutes Powered by advanced perception, decision-making & planning algorithms + a custom drone platform — all fully autonomous, no human intervention needed!
Heartfelt congratulations to the talented team: Spruha Kshirsagar, Rajasi Deshmukh, Harshal Kolhe, Samiron Biswas, Kumar Ayush, Mrunmayee Limaye, Sanchet Dhalwar, Ishani Khaty, Abhinav Anand, Sunil Watgule, Tarun Kayala, Vishnu Swaminathan, Jayvind Baghel, Harsh Vyas, Srushti Mahajan, Shubhangi Desai, Ananya Goswami, Mayank Bari.
Special thanks to our mentors & guides: Dr. Shital Chiddarwar, Dr. Ashwin Kothari, Dr. Ajinkya Baxy, Dr. Ritesh Keshri, Shri Shashikant Chaudhary, Dr. Y. B. Kathpatal, Dr. Ratnesh Kumar, and Hon. Director Prof. Prem Lal Patel. This win showcases the incredible research, innovation & teamwork culture at IvLabs, VNIT — strengthening VNIT’s impact in autonomous systems, precision agriculture, and real-world tech solutions!