Jyotiraditya Scindia launches 'Medicines from the Sky' project in Telangana
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said that the "Medicines from the Sky" project, under which drugs and vaccines are delivered using drones, will be taken up on a pilot basis in 16 green zones in Telangana and scaled up to the national level based on data. Notably, he launched the "Medicines from the Sky" project in Telangana's Vikarabad district on Saturday.
New Drone Policy has eased rules regarding drone operations
Scindia said the new Drone Policy brought out by the NDA government at the Centre recently eased rules regarding drone operations in the country by reducing the number of forms that need to be filled to operate them from 25 to 5. Notably, under the new policy, the types of fee charged from the operator have also been reduced from 72 to 4.
No permission is needed to fly drones in green zones
Moreover, under the new policy, no permission is needed to fly the drones in the Green zones, whereas permissions are needed in the Yellow zones and the Red Zones are no fly areas.
The data will be analyzed for three months: Scindia
Scindia said, "In 16 Green Zones, this "Medicines from the Sky" project will be taken up. The data will be analyzed for three months. We along with the Health Ministry, IT Ministry, state government, and the Centre will analyze the data and make a model for the whole country." "Today is a revolutionary day for Telangana and for the whole country," he added.
An interactive aerospace map is also being prepared: Scindia
Scindia said under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the new Drone Policy was envisaged. He said, "An interactive aerospace map is being prepared. With the help of the map, various zones are being earmarked." The "Medicines from the Sky" is an initiative of Telangana in partnership with the World Economic Forum, NITI Aayog, and HealthNet Global (Apollo Hospitals).
Project was launched on experimental BVLOS drone flights
The project was launched on experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights for the delivery of vaccines using the identified airspace of the Vikarabad district. Telangana Minister of IT and Industries KT Rama Rao requested the Union Minister to establish an Aviation University or Center of excellence at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad.
