Background and Rationale Drone technology has become increasingly important across various defence and civilian sectors (e.g. military, security, agriculture, construction, logistics, etc.) due to its ability to perform tasks efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively. India's drone ecosystem is strong in applications and assembly of drones, but less developed in foundational technologies at the component & sub-assembly level. While domestic firms have advanced in assembling airframes and software solutions, critical components and subassemblies remain heavily import-dependent. These include motors, ESCs, high-C Li-ion cells, GNSS modules, secure radios, low-cost EO/IR camera modules, Spectral imagers, LiDARs, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payloads, and advanced sensors. With this basis, ANRF is launching a MAHA Program on Drones: Components & Sub-Assemblies Research & Innovation, intended to address potential Strategic, Economic, and Innovation challenges and to strengthen the national drone ecosystem, positioning India to build holistic, end-to-end capabilities in the drone sector. Vision and Mission Objectives This program aims to establish national capability in foundational drone technologies and transition India from an assembly-driven ecosystem to an innovation-driven, component-secure ecosystem. The mission seeks to: Develop indigenous drone components and sub-assemblies across the full technology stack. Reduce strategic import dependence and build India's technological sovereignty. Foster innovation in propulsion, energy storage systems, advanced materials, autonomous navigation, communication, sensors, and safety systems. Deliver TRL-7 commercialisable demonstrators within 3 years. Build a competitive industrial base serving defence and civilian markets. The program will catalyse collaboration between academia, national laboratories, deeptech startups, MSMEs, and industry through structured consortia comprising these entities with credible and compelling collaboration. Scope of the Program The mission will address problem statements that span the full life-cycle of drone subsystems: materials, design, integration, testing, and certification-within the six thematic domains outlined below. While a set of Key Problem Statements is provided, submissions are not restricted to these topics. Alternative problem statements may be considered, provided they define clear, measurable numerical targets and include a strong justification demonstrating how they achieve or surpass current global state-of-the-art standards. Who Can Apply? Project proposals are invited in consortium mode, bringing together multiple Principal Investigators (PIs) and institutions/laboratories from academia, research organisations, industry, and startups. Each proposal must be submitted by a lead institution and will be headed by a Lead PI (LPI). The LPI will be from the academic institution or a National Research Laboratory, and must hold a regular position in the institution. PIs should hold a regular academic / research position in a recognised academic institution, national laboratory, or any other DSIR-SIRO recognised research organisation eligible to receive grants-in-aid from the Government of India. Applicants must be Indian citizens or OCI holders. Applicants must have a PhD in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or other relevant S&T disciplines. LPI should have at least three years of service remaining before superannuation at the time of proposal submission. Each proposal must designate one Lead Principal Investigator (LPI) and may include up to six Principal Investigators (PIs). PIs may be from the same institution as the LPI or from multiple collaborating institutions. This structure is designed to encourage the development of strong, interdisciplinary, and multi-institutional research teams capable of achieving the intended outcomes. A person from industry, startups, or an international faculty member/researcher, or industry partner may be formally designated as an “Honorary PI” in collaboration with an LPI based in India; however, the role and responsibilities of the Honorary Investigator must be clearly defined in the proposal. Note The lead institution will be responsible for the financial and administrative management of the project. Post selection of the project, funds will be allocated to the lead institution, which will in turn be distributed to other academic/R&D lab partners, as required. Collaboration: Startups and Industry partners may participate in the mission as collaborating partners with academic institutions/R&D labs and can aim to leverage applicable open-source/open licensing frameworks/outputs of the mission to drive their innovation. No financial support will be provided for industry and startups by ANRF in this mission. For more details visit, ANRF MAHA Drones Source: ANRF MAHA Drones