C-DOT Launches ‘NIDHI’ and ‘STAR Program’ to Boost Indigenous Telecom Innovations

New Delhi: In celebration of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D Centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, announced the launch of two major initiatives: “NIDHI” and the “STAR Program.” These initiatives aim to foster indigenous telecom solutions and technologies through synergistic collaboration with academia, startups, and industries.

The “NIDHI” initiative is designed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among women in the fields of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Open to DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) recognized startups led by women, the program will select the top 10 startups and provide them with substantial support. This includes an initial grant of 10 lakh INR each, access to well-furnished office space for six months, access to tools and lab facilities, mentorship from C-DOT technical leaders, and opportunities for future collaboration under the C-DOT Collaborative Research Program.

For more information on the “NIDHI” initiative, interested applicants can visit the official C-DOT website here.

The “STAR Program” focuses on nurturing academic excellence by offering scholarships to PhD students from the top 20 National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked engineering institutes. Each selected scholar will receive a scholarship amount of INR 6 lakh per annum for up to four years. Additionally, the program will provide mentorship from C-DOT’s research leaders and access to advanced lab facilities.

Today, twelve PhD students from various prestigious institutions, including Anna University, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Thapar University, NIT Surathkal, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Indore, IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Delhi, received scholarship approval letters, marking the commencement of their journey under the STAR Program.