Watch: Remote Meghalayan village receives first drone delivery of medicines

“A historical day in delivery of medicines through drones! Drone supply of medicines to a primary health centre in Pedaldoba, Meghalaya is a proud moment," the civil aviation ministry tweeted sharing the video.

The remote Meghalayan village Pedaldoba has a primary healthcare centre but faced difficulties in maintaining a resilient healthcare supply chain due to geographical challenges. However, on Monday the village received its first batch of medicines via drone technology, a move expected to benefit regions like such by overcoming the logistical challenges.

Drone makes its landing loaded with first batch of medicines to deliver to the primary health centre in Pedaldoba, Meghalaya. (Twitter/@MoCA_GoI)

A video of the same was shared by the civil aviation ministry earlier today. “A historical day in delivery of medicines through drones! Drone supply of medicines to a primary health centre in Pedaldoba, Meghalaya is a proud moment. This shows the increasing utility of drones in remote and inaccessible areas,” the ministry tweeted.

The pilot project was launched in November end, the news of which was shared by Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on Twitter. On its launch, the drone successfully accomplished its task, covering a distance of 25 km in a matter of 25 minutes. “Drone technology can change the future of healthcare. Today we launched a pilot of India’s 1st Medicine Delivery via Hybrid e-VTOL drone in #Meghalaya from Nongstoin to Maweit PHC covering a distance of 25 Kms in less than 25 mins,” CM Sangma tweeted.

He further lauded the state health department and the organisations involved in facilitating the project as he hoped it “will transform the healthcare supply chain to a hard-to-reach population”. “Great teamwork by the tech and innovation team @TechEagle_IN and @MovementSmart and the State Health Department.”