Following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology felicitated the winners of the ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge – Innovate Solutions for #AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ during  AzadiKa Digital Mahotsav celebrations last week.Winners of the challenge are:

1. The 1st Prize Winner of Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge is Team- Vega-FCS-FT who used VEGA processor to demonstrate - Fault Tolerant Reliable Integrated Avionics System for Drones

2. The 2^nd Prize Winner of Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge is Team- HW Design Labs who used SHAKTI processor to demonstrate – FM RDS Utilities

3. The 3^rd Prize Winner of Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge is Team- CytoX who used SHAKTI processor to demonstrate – Home solution for blood cell counting

4. The  Team- SpectroProcessor jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Design and development of SpectroProcessor for Biomedical Applications using SHAKTI Processor

5. The  Team- QuinProc jointly bagged the 4th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating - Home solution for blood cell counting using SHAKTI Processor

6.  The  Team- Avrio Energy jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Next-generation AI Energy Meter with Intelligence at Edge and Deep Learning using VEGA Processor

7. The  Team- Anshashodhak  jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Calibration System for Nuclear Spectroscopy Applications using SHAKTI Processor

8. The  Team- 6E Resources jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Remote Monitoring & Optimization of Sewage Treatment Plant using VEGA Processor

9. The  Team- JayHawks jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Anti-Theft Geofencing based Locking System (ATGLS) using SHAKTI Processor

10. The  Team- Astrek Innovations  jointly bagged the 4^th Prize under Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge for demonstrating – Lower limb exosuit for differently abled  using VEGA Processor

A reliable integrated avionics system for drones, home solution for blood cell counting, and FM RDS Utilities are some of the most innovative technologies produced by Indian start-ups and students this year to win theMinistry of Electronics and Information Technology’s “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge”.

On August 18, 2020, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)launched the “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge” as part of their series of proactive, pre-emptive and graded measures taken to spur the technology led innovation ecosystem in the country and staying at the forefront of digital adoption.

Open to students at all levels and start-ups, the Challenge demanded contestants to tinker with the Swadeshi Processor IPs (VEGA processor by C-DAC & SHAKTI processor by IIT Madras) and facilitate them with innovating the frugal solutions for societal needs.

Financial support to the tune of Rs. 4.40 Crore was provided at various stages of the Challenge for developing the hardware prototype and incubating a start-up to participating teams.

About 6,170 teams (having over 10,000 members) including over 500 start-ups contested during initial stages of the challenge by way of submitting online quiz, abstract and detailed proposal to reach at a stage wherein 100 semi-finalists were provided by MeitY with the VEGA& SHAKTI processor IPs ported on FPGA boards and financial as well as technical support to develop Hardware Proof of Concept applications around them.

30 teams with most technically and financially viable solutions were further given financial & technical assistance to improvise further on their hardware prototype and demonstrate to jury during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrated by MeitY from November 29 to December 3, 2021.

Out of the 30 teams, 10 most innovative teams won the challenge with their strategic solutions to various problems.

Vega FCS FT (AI Drone) came at the first position for their drone application and was awarded with Rs 35 Lakh cheque by Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. At the second position, HWDL won Rs 30 Lakh for FM RDS Utilities. Meanwhile, Cytox, at the third position won Rs 25 Lakh for their ‘cell count’ project.

The rest of the teams jointly shared the fourth position and received Rs 20 Lakh cheque each. The seven teams and their innovations are: team SpectroProcessordemonstrated design and development of SpectroProcessor for Biomedical Applications;team Quinprocdeveloped a wireless maternal monitoring system;team Anshashodhak demonstrateda unique calibration system for Nuclear Spectroscopy Applications; team Avrio Energy demonstrateda next-generation AI Energy Meter with Intelligence at edge and deep learning; team JayHawks demonstratedan anti-theft geofencing based locking system (ATGLS);Astrek Innovations demonstrated a lower limb exosuit for differently abled,and team 6E Resources demonstrated remote monitoring and optimization of Sewage Treatment Plant.

Congratulating the winners of the challenge, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics & IT and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship on said, “I went around many of the stalls and I say this without fear of sounding like I am exaggerating that this is very high-quality work. As somebody who has spent over 3.5 decades in technology, I can surely recognize good technology work. Out of all the sessions which have happened before, this is the one that looks forward to the future”.

He also appreciated the work conducted by C-DAC and IIT Madras and said that people of the nation can sleep easy knowing that they are headed in the right direction. “It is MeitY’s responsibility to help each of the entrepreneurs today who have showcased their products. We will do more than just help you incubate these projects. In next 24 months, we will work as partners to make these seriously viable products in our country,” he said.

Following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on December 3 felicitated the winners of the ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge - Innovate Solutions for #AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ during Azadi Ka Digital Mahotsav celebrations.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitYsaid: “Those that designed the microprocessor actually don’t know the power of what they are designing. It’s what you can do with the processor which is even more important than the processor itself. As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, it is wonderful to celebrate having microprocessors of our own and being able to see where all those can be used”.

Shri Rajendra Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY also congratulated the participants and the winners of the challenge. He said: “After seeing the enthusiasm and efforts at the exhibition, I think we can say with full confidence that we are well on our way to developing full spectrum of digital capabilities”.

Shri Arvind Kumar, Group Coordinator (R&D in Electronics & Cyber Security), MeitY highlighted that with the readiness level that Swadeshi Processors has achieved owing to the journey of Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge and CDAC'S achievements for Rudra Server &BioInferno, India is poised to position itself as a leader in Swadeshi Compute Designs and pave the way for gaining the market share in ESDM space. While highlighting the visionary leadership of Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY, he reminiscence the evolution of these programs and the effort gone towards while conceiving them”.

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RKJ/M