Amankant Sahu: IIT Engineer Building Defence Robotics

Why a 23-Year-Old Engineer from IIT Is Betting His Career on Indigenous Defence Robotics

At an age when many young engineers are still deciding which career path to pursue, Amankant Sahu is taking a different route. The 23-year-old engineer and founder of Shastra Dynamics is working on a challenge that combines engineering, national self-reliance and deep technology: building indigenous mobility platforms for defence and next-generation electric vehicle applications.

His journey did not begin in a sophisticated laboratory or a corporate innovation centre. It started with a school-level robotics project in Class 9.

That early experience gave Sahu his first real exposure to the possibility of using mechanical engineering and robotics to solve practical mobility problems. What began as an experiment gradually became a long-term interest in designing machines that could move efficiently, operate in demanding environments and address problems that conventional solutions could not easily solve.

Years later, that curiosity developed into the foundation of Shastra Dynamics, an Indian deep-tech company focused on mobility and energy technologies for defence and emerging EV applications.

From School Robotics to Deep-Tech Engineering

Sahu pursued Mechanical Engineering for his undergraduate studies and later completed his M.Tech in Electric Vehicle Technology from IIT Bhilai, where he achieved a CGPA of 8.9/10. His academic journey also included qualifying GATE in Engineering Sciences/Mechanical across four consecutive years.

While academics strengthened his technical foundation, his interest extended beyond conventional automotive engineering. He became increasingly interested in advanced electric vehicle systems, heavy automotive drivetrains and the challenges involved in developing adaptable mobility platforms.

For Sahu, the opportunity lay at the intersection of these fields.

He began working on a proprietary chassis architecture that eventually evolved into the NAMANK platform, resulting in a granted Indian patent. Rather than treating the patent as an endpoint, he viewed it as an important foundation for developing practical hardware and a larger technology ecosystem around it.

Building a Hardware Company Without a Conventional Roadmap

The journey of building a deep-tech hardware company has been considerably different from developing a conventional software startup.

As a solo founder, Sahu has had to work across engineering, prototyping, intellectual property, government outreach, fundraising and business development. Developing physical technology requires significant precision, testing and resources, while defence-oriented innovation also demands an understanding of real operational requirements.

Much of Shastra Dynamics’ early development has therefore involved independent R&D, multi-physics simulations, physical prototyping and iterative engineering.

There have also been challenges outside the laboratory. Protecting the company’s identity and intellectual property, including dealing with basic threats such as domain squatting, became part of the reality of building a technology company from the ground up.

Instead of allowing these challenges to slow the journey, Sahu has continued to build the company’s capabilities step by step.

From Prototype to the Defence Innovation Ecosystem

One of the significant milestones in this journey has been converting the technology from an engineering concept into a working physical prototype.

The NAMANK prototype has been physically built and demonstrated at multiple exhibitions and platforms. The technology has also been evaluated in person by leadership from ARAI, a serving Indian Army officer and representatives associated with the iDEX ecosystem.

Shastra Dynamics was selected as one of eight national startups to pitch directly to Indian Army procurement teams at the BDTS Pune Strategic Colloquium. The company also has multiple active applications within India’s iDEX defence-innovation ecosystem across different challenge tracks.

Its work has taken Sahu beyond conventional startup events as well. Shastra Dynamics has presented defence and battery technology innovations at platforms including DefTech Bharat 2026 in Bengaluru and IInvenTiv at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.

Sahu has also participated in the BRICS IP delegates conference in New Delhi, where he interacted with the Head of CGPDTM, and presented the NAMANK platform to an evaluation panel at iHub GEC Raipur.

Recognition That Started Long Before the Startup

The recognition surrounding Sahu’s work predates Shastra Dynamics.

His interest in innovation began with school-level science exhibitions and competitions, where he received multiple national-level recognitions. Among these was the DST INSPIRE National Idea Challenge First Prize.

His work has subsequently received recognition from the Prime Minister’s Office and DRDO centres in Delhi and Pune, along with faculty commendation from IIT Kanpur. He has also been selected for the i-Hub Chhattisgarh incubation screening process.

These milestones reflect a journey that has gradually progressed from student experimentation to academic research, intellectual property development, physical prototyping and engagement with India’s defence innovation ecosystem.

A Larger Vision for Indian Deep-Tech

For Sahu, however, the larger objective extends beyond a single platform or startup milestone.

He wants to build Shastra Dynamics into a globally competitive, India-engineered mobility and energy technology company, with the long-term ambition of developing world-class autonomous ground mobility platforms for tactical applications.

The vision is rooted in a belief that India can develop globally relevant deep-tech products through indigenous engineering, intellectual property and disciplined execution.

The journey from a Class 9 robotics project to an IIT M.Tech, a granted patent, a functioning prototype and engagement with India’s defence innovation ecosystem is still only an early chapter.

Today, from his R&D and prototyping setup in Durg, Chhattisgarh, Amankant Sahu is working toward a much larger goal: creating technology in India that can compete on a global stage while contributing to the country’s growing capabilities in defence, mobility and advanced engineering.