India taps drones to deliver essential medical supplies to far-flung areas

In the sub-zero, snow-laden Himalayas, batches of blood, plasma and platelets were flown by a drone over multiple 20km trips in a high-altitude drone delivery trial in October.

- Nirmala Ganapathy

In less than seven minutes, the drone covered what would have been an hour's journey by road in challenging terrain.

"We wanted to check whether the blood was usable after transferring it using the drone," said scientist Sumit Aggarwal, a programme officer at the division of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a state research institute.

It was. Besides blood components, the drone also transported essential medicine between Keylong, the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, and remote areas such as Tholang district.

The successful two-week trial was part of a series undertaken by the ICMR to test drone deliveries under different climatic and geographical conditions, as India seeks to become a multi-sectoral drone hub by 2030.

In May, when temperatures crossed 40 deg C, scientists tested blood deliveries by drones in the vicinity of India's capital city New Delhi.

Plans are now being drawn up for organ transport, among other trials, including the delivery of sputum samples for tuberculosis testing in a tribal area in the southern state of Telangana to cut down diagnostic delays.

"It (drone delivery) will support our health outreach," Dr Aggarwal told The Straits Times.

India aims to become a hub for drone manufacturing and use by 2030.

Drones, which are currently manufactured or assembled in India with parts sourced from countries like China, are used in policing, agriculture and defence, including manning India's porous borders in a bid to curb illegal activities such as smuggling and trafficking.