The Indian Council of Medical Research or ICMR has announced that it will now conduct a study to understand the feasibility of using drones to deliver essential COVID-19 vaccinations across the country.?
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A new report has revealed that the aforementioned Indian medical council has now been granted permission by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for this study.?
The Indian Council of Medical Research for this specific study has also teamed up with the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. The testing for the drones will be conducted on the campus itself.
In the first phase of the study, researchers will keep the drone in sight of the operator. When successful, researchers will extend the drone to be operated beyond the line of sight.?
As per an official involved with this study, ¡°Once the second stage, the aviation and home ministries¡¯ clearance will be sought. We feel vaccine delivery by drone may not be far away now,¡±
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The permission for testing the drone has been granted by the authorities under a special ¡®conditional exemption¡¯ under the newly laid Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021.?
As revealed in an official press release (reported first by ANI) by the authorities, the civil aviation ministry has revealed that the permission exemption is going to be valid for a time period of one year if not extended by further orders.?
Surprisingly, ICMR and IIT Kanpur aren¡¯t the special ones getting this ¡®conditional exemption¡¯. As per the authorities, these permissions have been granted to other civic bodies across the nation including the municipal corporations of Dehradun, Haldwani and Rudrapur for the preparation of a GIS-based property database and electronic tax register.?
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Permission has also been given to the Kota and Katni divisions of West Central Railway for train accident sites and maintaining the safety of railway assets.?
The press release further added, "These exemptions shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations as stated for the respective entities are strictly adhered to. In case of violation of any condition, the exemption shall become null and void and action may be initiated by MoCA & DGCA."