Telangana To Use Drones For COVID Vaccine Delivery

Hyderabad: The Telangana government was granted permission by the Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday (April 30th) to use drones for experimental vaccine distribution within visual line of sight.

The ministry's statement does not specify which vaccine will be used in this trial delivery.

The ministry announced on Twitter that the Telangana government has been granted conditional exemption from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, for "conducting experimental delivery of vaccines using drones within the visual line of sight range."

MoCA gives conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 to Govt of Telangana for conducting experimental delivery of vaccines using drones within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) range. pic.twitter.com/ivJqkK6ink

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) April 30, 2021

This exemption will be in effect for one year or until further orders are issued, according to the document.

The Government of Telangana had sought the exemption from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 for the delivery of vaccines on 9th March 2021 while @DGCAIndia accorded approval on 26th April 2021.