DRDO Dare to Dream 2021 and Young Scientists awards

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DRDO Dare to Dream 2.0- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Science and Technology- Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Recently, the defense minister felicitated the winners of the ‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ Contest of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ award was given to 40 winners – 22 in the Individual category and 18 in the Startup category.

About: Dare to Dream is DRDO’s pan-India contest to promote Indian academicians, individuals and startups to develop emerging defence and aerospace technologies/systems.
- DRDO provides technical and financial support to the winners for the realization of their ideas under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme.
Aim:
- To create path-breaking innovation in the future in the fields of innovation, design & development.
- To promote the collaborative efforts to build a strong and self-reliant ‘New India’.
Award: The winners will be decided after due evaluation by the expert committee. A cash award of up to 10 lakhs for Startups and 5 lakhs for individuals will be given to winners.

Defense minister also gave away DRDO Young Scientists awards for the year 2019.
Sixteen DRDO scientists, under the age of 35 years, were awarded for their outstanding contribution in areas of their expertise.

On this occasion, three products/systems indigenously developed by DRDO were also handed over to the Armed Forces. These are:

ARINC818 Video Processing and Switching Module: The module, developed for the Indian Air Force.
- It is a state-of-the-art module with high bandwidth, low latency, channel bonding, easy networking and will cater to 5^th generation aircraft development programs.
Sonar Performance Modelling System: Developed for the Indian Navy.
- It is useful for Indian Naval ships, submarines, and underwater surveillance stations, etc.
Bund Blasting Device Mk-II: developed for Indian Army.
- It is used to reduce the height of Ditch-cum-Bund obstacles to enhance the mobility of mechanized infantry during wartime.