For over a month, 20-year-old Sarvesh Sharma lived under the impression that he was inching close to his dreams with each passing day. He ideated a startup, got it registered; started the process to obtain a PAN card, and even opened a joint bank account with his mother — thinking he secured a Rs 3.5-crore grant from the Ministry of Defence to develop an indigenous drone.

Fast forward to October 27, the Computer Engineering student from Government Polytechnic College finally realised he was being sold a dream that didn’t exist. A day later, it came to light that Sarvesh fell from the 3rd floor of the hostel building. He is admitted to PGIMER, Chandigarh , where he is undergoing surgery for multiple fractures in his jaws and legs.

Sources said that Sarvesh first started exploring the iDEX website in August and applied under its individual category.…