Kochi-based agri-tech startup Fuselage Innovations, supported by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), has won the Aspire Award at the National Startup Awards 5.0 held in New Delhi on Friday.
The National Startup Awards 5.0 are instituted by Startup India under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The awards were announced on the sidelines of National Startup Day 2026, which marked ten years of the Startup India initiative.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with startup founders and entrepreneurs during the event. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal was present on the occasion.
The Aspire Award recognises innovative startups from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities for their contribution to local ecosystems and growth beyond major metropolitan centres.
The National Startup Awards honour startups that have demonstrated innovation, scalability and impact across 20 categories, recognising the contribution of the startup ecosystem.
The Aspire Award was presented by Piyush Goyal to Devan Chandrasekharan, Managing Director, and Devika Chandrasekharan, Director, Fuselage Innovations.
Addressing the gathering, Devika Chandrasekharan said the startup was born out of the devastating floods that hit Kerala in 2017 and 2018, which damaged her family’s farmland and highlighted the challenges faced by farmers. She said the company emerged as a response to issues such as crop loss and inefficient plant treatment methods rather than as a planned entrepreneurial venture.
She said the agricultural drones developed by the company helped farmers reduce cultivation costs by about 70 percent while improving crop yields by nearly 30 percent. Despite successful field demonstrations, she said the company faced repeated investor rejections and was eventually launched in 2020 as a fully bootstrapped venture during the COVID-19 period.
Devika highlighted the role of Startup India and government seed funding schemes, stating that the support provided institutional trust and validation beyond financial assistance.
Founded in 2020, Fuselage Innovations manufactures Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI)-certified drones for agriculture, defence and disaster management. The company currently works with more than 10,000 farmers across multiple states and has begun exporting its drone solutions to international markets.
KSUM Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika said the recognition reflects Kerala’s strong startup ecosystem and the state’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. He added that Fuselage Innovations has set a benchmark for emerging startups.
