Telangana permitted to fly drones for experimental delivery of COVID vaccines

The Telangana government on Friday was granted a conditional exemption for drone deployment by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting experimental delivery of COVID vaccines.

According to an official media release, "The drone usage permission has been granted for conducting experimental delivery of COVID-19 vaccines within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Range using drones."

The permission for flying unmanned aerial vehicles has been granted for a period of one year or until further orders. However, these exemptions will be valid only "if all conditions and limitations as stated for the respective entities are strictly adhered to".

"Trials will also assist in assessing conditions such as population, degree of isolation, geography, etc 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 grant of these permissions is intended to achieve the dual objectives of faster vaccine delivery and improved healthcare access.

( With inputs from ANI )