Telangana government granted to use drones for vaccine delivery

The Civil Aviation Ministry has permitted the Telangana government to use drones for the experimental delivery of vaccines.

The Ministry said it has granted a conditional exemption to the Telangana government from the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021, for "conducting experimental delivery of Covid vaccines using drones within the visual line of sight range".

The permission is valid for a period of one year or until further orders. It will remain valid only if all the stated conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to.

The trials being conducted will assist in assessing conditions such as population, degree of isolation, geography and so on in order to identify regions that specifically require drone deliveries.

Earlier this month, similar permission was granted to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting a feasibility study of Covid-19 vaccine delivery using drones in collaboration with IIT Kanpur.

The granting of these permissions is intended to achieve the dual objectives of faster vaccine delivery and improved healthcare access by,

@ Ensuring primary healthcare delivery to the citizen’s doorstep

@ Limiting human exposure to Covid-congested or Covid-prone areas through aerial delivery

@ Ensuring last-mile access to healthcare, especially in remote areas

@ Possible integration into the middle mile of medical logistics for long-range drones

@ Improving medical supply chain, especially with another vaccine expected to be commissioned and millions of doses to be transported across India