Tamal Bandyopadhyay
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Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
300kmph, radar-proof: Army buys BITS-Hyd students' hostel-built drones
Hyderabad: Bomb-dropping Kamikaze drones — 300kmph, radar-proof. Assembled inside a hostel room of BITS Pilani's Hyderabad campus. The Army buys in. Two 20-year-old engineering students of the institute have stunned India's defence circles by building and selling cutting-edge UAVs to Army units across Jammu, Haryana's Chandimandir, Bengal's Panagarh, and Arunachal Pradesh — all within two months of launching their start-up Apollyon Dynamics. Their mission: reduce India's dependency on imported drones. Jayant Khatri, a mechanical engineering student from Rajasthan's Ajmer, and electrical engineering student Sourya Choudhury from Kolkata built their drones with off-the-shelf parts, customised the systems for Indian terrain, and pitched them to Army officers via cold messages on LinkedIn. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad "I just started shooting cold emails to whoever I could find… Luckily, a colonel responded and called us to Chandigarh for a demo," Khatri said, speaking to TOI on Monday. What followed was a whirlwind — a live demo of bomb-dropping and racing drones, followed by more demonstrations to military regiments. Orders began flowing in. The company was born. Their standout product: a Kamikaze drone that hits speeds over 300kmph, five times faster than standard commercial UAVs, and delivers 1kg payloads with pinpoint accuracy. "Our drones are not just fast — they can't be detected on radar," said Choudhury. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Do you have a mouse? Desert Order Undo The duo insists every UAV is built in-house with a focus on "ruggedness, reliability and adaptability". "Our shared love of robotics brought us together. We started with a defence-tech club on campus. Then came the orders — that's when we knew we had to go big," Choudhury said. The team now includes six second-year students and is working on next-generation VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing)) and fixed-wing platforms to boost mission flexibility. They also offer hands-on training to military personnel — even those with no prior flight experience. "It's heartening to see what they've achieved," said professor Sanket Goel of BITS Pilani. "Their start-up has already secured multiple orders from the armed forces." In "3 Idiots", Joy Lobo's passion for machines died in silence — no support, no takers. In real life, two students built war-ready drones in a hostel room. The Army called back.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
CM to launch 1 crore plantation drive, steel plant construction in Gadchiroli today
1 2 3 Nagpur: A plantation drive that should take care of 10% of the state's 10 crore saplings target for increasing green cover will commence at Gadchiroli on Tuesday. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will kick-start the plantation of one crore saplings in the Maoist-affected district. On the same day, he will also lay the foundation stone of an integrated steel plant being built by Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited (LMEL) at Konsari village in the district. The steel plant is expected to bring an economic metamorphosis in the district. Gadchiroli district collector Avishyant Panda said, "We are ready with 40 lakh saplings which will be planted during this monsoon season itself. The remaining 60 lakh will be planted within two years, and nurseries are being readied to ensure that the target is met." He added, "This is not just a plantation campaign; it's a movement now." "The 40 lakh saplings have been mainly sourced from the forest department, specifically the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), which has a huge nursery bank. For the remaining 60 lakh, we have mobilised funds from the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) too," said the collector. Later, at Konsari, after laying the foundation stone of the steel plant, Fadnavis will also inaugurate the first phase of a 5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) iron ore grinding plant at Hedri in Gadchiroli district, a 10 MTPA capacity slurry pipeline from Hedri to Konsari, and a 4.5 MTPA capacity pellet plant at Konsari. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo The integrated steel plant is proposed to have a capacity of 4.5 MTPA. Fadnavis will also inaugurate a 100-bedded hospital, a CBSE pattern school at Konsari, apart from performing a ground breaking ceremony of the company's township. The steel complex and other units by LMEL mark a new chapter for the district. It has emerged as a source of employment for locals, and even surrendered Maoists have taken up jobs in LMEL, said a note shared with TOI. They have been trained by the company in industry-oriented skills and absorbed into jobs to aid the process of integrating them into the mainstream of society. LMEL managing director B Prabhakaran said that more than 140 years ago, Gadchiroli could have been the birthplace of the Indian steel industry. Now, it's time for the district to shine. His statement referred to Jamsetji Tata's plan to start steel making at Gadchiroli, which was dropped as there was no rail connectivity at that time. The integrated steel plant, for which the foundation stone will be laid, is also a step towards the country's vision of making 'Green Steel', said Prabhakaran.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Tariff deadline Aug 1, US team to visit India in 2nd half of month
File photo NEW DELHI: Even as the Aug 1 deadline set by Trump looms, a team of US negotiators will visit India only in the second half of Aug with top officials indicating that India is looking at a bilateral trade agreement by Fall. The govt has not commented on the last week's talks in Washington, but by all indications, negotiators have failed to make much headway on the contentious issue of allowing American agriculture and dairy products, which have been clearly marked as no-go areas by India. Besides, India has been demanding that it should get a good deal in areas of interests such as textiles, footwear, certain auto parts and shrimps and is unwilling to settle for sub-optimal solutions. The US has been insisting on concessions for agricultural products such as maize and soybean, most of which is genetically modified, something that India does not allow. In recent days, Trump has claimed that a deal with India will be finalised soon. Although it is unclear if talks for a deal before Aug 1 deadline will take place virtually, it remains to be seen how the American president responds, given that he has been sending tariff letters to countries which have not signed agreements so far. In fact, the transparency in the deals being signed by Trump is another concern with govt, given that the US has finalised deals with Vietnam and Bangladesh, where the non-disclosure clauses are preventing them from being made public while the American president claims victory. On April 2, Trump had announced a 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian products, only to suspend it till July 9 and announced Aug 1 as the new date for the higher levies to kick in. For India too, the stakes are high, given that the US is its largest export market. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
