The result of the final round of the Defence Innovation Challenge for Excellence (DICE-2024), 6th National Innovation Challenge, organized by the Marathwada Accelerator for Growth and Incubation Council (MAGIC), was announced recently. The initiative aimed to identify innovative solutions to challenges in the defense sector and support startups in making their research commercially viable.

Sharing details about the competition, Prasad Kokil, Director of MAGIC and Convener of DICE-2024, stated that applications were received from 47 cities across 17 states, out of which 102 startups were shortlisted for the preliminary round. Following a three-stage selection process, 24 startups advanced to the finals, and 7 startups were awarded across three categories.

In the Revenue Stage category, Shravan Yadav’s Auxobit Aerospace Private Limited (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) emerged as the winner, while Nikhil Rajput’s NxtQube - Aerogravity Pvt. Ltd. (Nashik) secured the runner-up position.

In the Prototype Stage category, A. Gyanesh Kumar Rao’s Gyanadraksha Wydhumraketustra Subrahmkr Pvt Ltd (Bhilai, Madhya Pradesh) won first place, followed by Utkarsh Ahuja’s Contriver Autonomous Systems Private Limited (Delhi) as the runner-up.

In the Idea Stage category, Vijay Mamtani’s Prayogik (Bhopal) was declared the winner, while Riyan Nadar’s Plasma Blade Propeller (Mumbai) secured the runner-up position. Additionally, Sarthak Sudhir’s VertiFly Aerospace (Pune) received a special mention from the jury panel.

The final event featured Brigadier Virendra Singh, Commander of the 97 Artillery Brigade, as the chief guest, who shared his insights on the future of defense innovation.

'Army is open to new ideas'

“This is the best era for innovation in India. The government is investing significantly in R&D, and the Indian Army is open to new ideas like never before. R and D experts play the major role in defense innovation. They must leverage their talent to develop innovative solutions for the sector,” Brigadier Singh said.

The sixth edition of DICE-2024 was inaugurated on October 5, 2024, by Dr. Sameer Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defense Research and Development and Chairman of DRDO.

The final jury panel included Colonel Sandeep Thapliyal, Colonel Varun Gajaria, Lieutenant Colonel Ashish Vijayvargiya, Akash Gupta (Co-founder, Praym Aerospace), Pradyumna Mandhani, Saurabh Chhallani, Hemant Agnihotri (Senior Technical Manager, 3D Engineering), Dr. Nilesh Patil (Director, MIT), and Dr. Ganesh Dongre (Principal, CSMSS).

The event was moderated by Shashikant Tiwari, while the vote of thanks was delivered by Ritesh Mishra.

The winners were awarded a total cash prize of ₹6,50,000, along with special incubation and seed funding opportunities at MAGIC.