From now on vaccines and emergency medical supplies to the remotest parts of India will be supplied, using drones on experiment basis in Telangana.
The drone-based delivery of the vaccines and emergency medical supplies will be carried out by Blue Dart, a leading express logistics service provider.
“As an organisation Blue Dart has always been surrounded with the technology of the future. It is this ability that has helped us to not only withstand the pandemic but thrive with growth. While we reach out to over 35,000 locations across the country, the current situation calls for a much deeper penetration of vaccines,” Blue Dart Managing Director Balfour Manuel said.
The company has formed Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium with a mission of revolutionising the delivery system to optimise the current healthcare logistics within Telangana.
The consortium is part of the ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project in collaboration with the Telangana government, World Economic Forum, Niti Aayog and Healthnet Global.
Medicines from district medical stores and blood banks will be delivered to the Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Blood Storage Units & further from PHCs/CHCs to Central Diagnostic laboratories, using the drones.
“Telangana is one of the most proactive states looking to adopt emerging technologies, and the ”Medicine from the Sky project using drones is in line with the same principles. This project is one of the first such programs in the country…The vision is to ensure healthcare equity for rural areas, Telangana IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has given a nod to the project with necessary exemptions and rights to fly drones in Telangana.
“The aim is to assess an alternate logistics route in providing safe, accurate and reliable pickup and delivery of healthcare items (medicines, Covid-19 vaccines, units of blood, diagnostic specimens and other lifesaving equipment) from distribution centres to specific location and back,” the company said in a statement.
