MEDICINE FROM SKY PROJECT

MEDICINE FROM SKY PROJECT

Subject : Current Events

Context : Recently, the ‘Medicines from Sky’ project has received a shot in the arm, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Director General of Civil Aviation according a conditional nod to the Telangana government for deployment of drones for delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.

Concept :

Medicines from Sky Project

• The Telangana government, World Economic Forum and HealthNet Global, had signed a collaboration agreement for the ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project.
• A feasibility study is being planned to study drone-based delivery of blood, vaccines, medical samples and long tail medicine.
• The Central government, in exercise of powers conferred by Rule 70 of the UAS Rules, 2021, has granted conditional exemption to Telangana for the purpose of trying out drones for delivery.
• The consortiums shortlisted by Telangana will be able to start trials on ground to build a safety case for regulators for considering the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) range.

Key Highlights

• The permission has been granted for conducting experimental delivery of Covid-19 vaccines within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Range.
• The permission exemption is valid for one year or until further orders, subject to the conditions laid out.
• It is proposed to take up BVLOS flights in Vikarabad district of Telangana with the Area Hospital as the take-off site and various PHCs and sub-centres as the landing sites.
• The programme will be for 24 days, where the eight selected consortia would be divided into four batches of two consortia, and each batch would perform the sorties for 6 days.