IIT Bombay, ICMR get govt permission to use drones

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), has received drone use permission for research, development and testing of drones on its own premises.  

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), have been granted permission to operate drones. While the ICMR has been permitted to conduct experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) vaccine delivery in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur, and Nagaland up to a height of 3,000 metres using drones, the IITB has received drone use permission for research, development and testing of drones on its own premises. Both organisations have been granted conditional exemption from Drone Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a statement said.  

Exemption from Drone Rules valid for one year 

“This exemption shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the said airspace clearance and shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of approval of the said airspace clearance or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the statement noted.  

Soon, drones to deliver vaccines, drugs 

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had launched the first of its kind ‘Medicines from the Sky’ project at Vikarabad in Telangana on September 11, under which drugs and vaccines will be delivered using drones. The MoCA notified the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 in August easing drone operations in the country.  

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