Hello, readers! I'm Mathews currently pursuing 2nd year MBA at Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore. Here's my new blog post!
India is gearing up for the new normal to meet the rising demand for timely delivery of healthcare and other supplies. Delivery of vaccines, medical necessities and equipment being the most immediate need, the industry is looking to expand faster than it may have imagined. With constant innovation going hand-in-hand, drones are becoming the future of last-mile delivery.
Drones in healthcare supply chain:
Funded by US start-up accelerator TechStars, Bengaluru-based start-up Redwing Labs is one of the many Indian companies exploring the most viable options to use the drone technology. They aim to automate aerial logistics as well as design, build and deploy drone logistics infrastructure for delivering medical and critical supplies efficiently.
Delhi-based Indian Robotics Solutions is not far behind. They research, invent and equip the defense intelligence forces with robotic solutions. They develop a penta-performer drone named thermal Corona Combat drone (CCD) which can be used for sanitization, thermal screening and surveillance.
While these Indian companies are working on drone delivery services, US-based drone services company Zipline is trying to enter the Indian skies with the aim of improving healthcare accessibility anywhere in the world.
Regulations and flying in India:
Though the drone operators are ready to fly their drones, the major challenge is the regulations in India. Incidentally, the government's response to the use of drones has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, as they have also been actively developing the Digital Sky platform for drone operators, while also building a framework and fast track the process of approvals.
Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, says they don't need to worry as the regulatory framework is ready for the approval. According to him, all they have to do is "simply focus on making the best drones in the world" which would supersede drones by foreign companies that are entering India, if they wish to make an impact in the world.
Using drones for cargo:
It is also important to see if drones can be converted into cargo drones as well. Mrinal Pai, co-founder of Bengaluru-based company Skylark Drones says it is possible but has several limitations. He believes that there are three parts to enabling cargo drones: technology, the regulatory environment and the demand in itself. Though the technology is available, the demand and regulations have been challenges.
Smit Shah, Director of Partnerships, Drone Federation of India, says “there are three things to keep in mind with cargo drones - whether you are dropping it or delivering it, whether you're flying in a rural, semi-rural semi urban area, or a very high density urban area, and whether you're going to use segregated airspace, which is a dedicated airspace or whether you're going to use mixed airspace. The need for quick experiments, data collection to help incremental policy making which focuses on rural-first and then urban approach, while also looking at commercial viability of the deliveries are also on the top of the agenda.”
Drones for the future:
Drones being the future of delivery, there is no doubt that there will be a huge amount of work that will go into it. According to the industry experts, focus should be on to conduct as many experiments and tests to improve its usage and help create a better policy. Looking at automation to reduce the cost for every single delivery is another aspect. Maintaining safety standards is also important. Drones will become a fundamental part of the supply chain system for the future as there will be a huge demand for medical supplies and vitals.
With quick actions, India already appears to take on the world by using drones.
Technology advancement and innovation undeniably changed our life in all aspects, which includes the last mile fulfillment of a logistic company to customers as well.
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