Himachal labourer's son gets Rs 3.5 crore grant to build radar-evading Army drone

A Himachal Pradesh polytechnic student turned an Rs 87,000 drone prototype into a Rs 3.5 crore Ministry of Defence-backed project. Sarvesh Sharma will now develop the Rudra Edge T-1 (Spectra) for Army border surveillance at an IIT Roorkee incubation facility, with 20 months to complete the project.A Himachal Pradesh polytechnic student turned an Rs 87,000 drone prototype into a Rs 3.5 crore Ministry of Defence backed project. (Photo: (l) ANI - aSarvesh Sharma felicitated by Himachal Pradesh Governor)New Delhi,Sep 25, 2026 15:29 ISTFor 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 COMPETITIONSarvesh'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.Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh: On Sarvesh Kumar Sharma, who developed advanced drones for the Indian Army, being felicitated by the Governor, Governor Kavinder Gupta says, ''When I woke up in the morning and saw the newspaper, I read about our student Sarvesh from Bhanvi village, pic.twitter.com/7r5vWrguKd— IANS (@ians_india) September 23, 2026FROM HAMIRPUR TO AN IIT ROORKEE LABThe 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 BAHANVISarvesh 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