--- title: "Zupple Labs Wins DRDO TDF Blockchain Security Audit Project" description: "The blockchain credentials startup won a Technology Development Fund project, with DRDO's Scientific Analysis Group as the nodal lab, to create a standard..." url: "https://bharat.digital/originals/zupple-labs-drdo-tdf-blockchain-security-audit-nov-2026/index.md" canonical: "https://bharat.digital/originals/zupple-labs-drdo-tdf-blockchain-security-audit-nov-2026/" published: "2026-11-12T10:55:00+04:00" updated: "2026-11-12T10:55:00+04:00" section: "Originals" type: "startup" author: "bharat.digital desk" image: "https://bharat.digital/img/originals/zupple-labs-drdo-tdf-blockchain-security-audit-nov-2026-auto-1448ca0a-og.jpg" language: "en-IN" site: "bharat.digital" --- # DRDO picks Mangaluru's Zupple Labs to build a security audit framework for blockchain in defence *The blockchain credentials startup won a Technology Development Fund project, with DRDO's Scientific Analysis Group as the nodal lab, to create a standard way to test and grade defence grade blockchain applications.* By bharat.digital desk. Startup, Startups & Fintech. Published 2026-11-12T10:55:00+04:00. 2 min read. ![DRDO picks Mangaluru's Zupple Labs to build a security audit framework for blockchain in defence](https://bharat.digital/img/originals/zupple-labs-drdo-tdf-blockchain-security-audit-nov-2026-auto-1448ca0a-hero.webp) ## At a glance - Company: Zupple Labs - What it does: Blockchain based trust infrastructure and digital credential verification for governments and institutions - Based in: Mangaluru - Latest: Won DRDO TDF project for blockchain security analysis and auditing - Date: 2026-11-10 - Founders: Neil Kevin Martis (co founder and CEO) The Defence Research and Development Organisation has awarded Mangaluru based Zupple Labs a project titled Security Analysis and Auditing of Blockchain under its Technology Development Fund (TDF) programme, BusinessLine reported on 10 November, with WION carrying the same news a day later. DRDO's Scientific Analysis Group will act as the nodal laboratory. DRDO had published the request for proposals for this project, Security Analysis and Auditing of Blockchain Networks, on its website and the Defence eProcurement portal in May 2026, with bids due by 4 June. The gap the project targets is simple to state. Indian government agencies generally cannot run on public blockchains, so any defence use would rely on private, permissioned networks, and there is no common test that such a system must pass before it goes live. Co founder and CEO Neil Kevin Martis told BusinessLine that the defence sector could start adopting blockchain for uses such as tracking supply chain items across the country within the next few years, and that the project aims to build a standard platform on which defence grade blockchain applications can be graded. YourStory reports that the work will run for 30 months and describes it as the first TDF project in the blockchain domain, out of fewer than 90 projects the programme has funded in its ten years. CoinTrust, citing the company, reports that the intellectual property from the project will be jointly owned by the company and DRDO. Zupple Labs builds blockchain based trust infrastructure that makes records such as land titles, educational credentials, identities, permits and work orders tamper evident and verifiable, and says it works across four countries. Its flagship product is LegitDoc. According to YourStory, its past clients include MeitY, the United Nations Population Fund, the governments of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Kenya, and student immigration bodies in Australia and New Zealand. Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta noted it is one of 10 startups in this year's Bolpu cohort. What to watch: the award is the start of the work, not a finished tool. The real test is whether the framework becomes the standard that future defence blockchain systems must clear, and whether it can be used more widely by civilian agencies building on permissioned ledgers. ## Sources 1. [BusinessLine: Mangaluru's Zupple Labs get DRDO mandate to develop blockchain evaluation standards](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/mangalurus-zupple-labs-get-drdo-mandate-to-develop-blockchain-evaluation-standards/article71686420.ece) 2. [WION: DRDO awards blockchain security and auditing project to Mangaluru based Zupple Labs](https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/drdo-awards-blockchain-security-and-auditing-project-to-mangaluru-based-zupple-labs-1794386026242) 3. [YourStory: Mangaluru's Zupple Labs wins DRDO's first ever blockchain defence project](https://yourstory.com/2026/11/zupple-labs-drdo-tdf-blockchain-security-audit-defence) 4. [DRDO: RFP for the project Security Analysis and Auditing of Blockchain Networks under TDF Scheme](https://drdo.gov.in/drdo/en/announcement/rfp-project-security-analysis-auditing-blockchain-networks-be-executed-under-tdf) 5. [CoinTrust: India's DRDO awards Zupple Labs blockchain security project](https://www.cointrust.com/market-news/indias-drdo-awards-zupple-labs-blockchain-security-project) 6. [Zupple Labs on LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/company/zupplelabs) Written by the bharat.digital desk from the sources above. Figures are as reported by those sources.