BackPM Modi to inaugurate India's biggest drone festival tomorrow. Details here
PM Modi will be interacting with kisan drone pilots, witness open-air drone demonstrations and interact with startups in the drone exhibition centre
PremiumPrime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the country's biggest Drone Festival - Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022 on Friday, May 27, 2022 at 10 am at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022 is a two-day event and is being held on May 27 and 28.
As per the Prime Minister's Office, PM Modi will also interact with kisan drone pilots, witness open-air drone demonstrations and interact with startups in the drone exhibition centre.
"Over 1600 delegates comprising government officials, foreign diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces, PSUs, private companies and drone startups etc. will participate in the Mahotsav. More than 70 exhibitors will display various use cases of drones at the exhibition," the PMO said in a statement.
Additionally, the Mahotsav will witness a virtual award of drone pilot certificates, product launches, panel discussions, flying demonstrations, display of a Made in India Drone Taxi prototype, among others.
Meanwhile earlier this month, the World Economic Forum said that drones can be used to bring quality healthcare to people in the remotest areas of India, citing results of a new experimental programme.
Eight healthcare centres covering a population of over 3,00,000 people took part in the 45-day trial in which health workers delivered vital vaccines and medicines by drone.
Calling it the first successful trial in Asia of long-range vaccine delivery, the WEF said it shows how drone technology can be scaled up across India to meet urgent healthcare needs in remote areas.
It was conducted as part of a wider programme, Medicine from the Sky, led by the WEF's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution India, in partnership with the Government of Telangana, Apollo Hospital's Healthnet Global and NITI Aayog.
The programme aims to work with business, policymakers and communities to use drone technology to extend urban-grade healthcare to India's remotest areas.
Multiple stakeholders have been consulted throughout, including healthcare workers, local communities, local police, district-level administrators and local air traffic control, the WEF said.
Under the programme, healthcare professionals delivered vaccines, COVID-19 testing samples and medical products to a population of over 3,00,000 people represented by eight district health facilities in the Vikarabad district of the southern state of Telangana.
The district was chosen because it includes communities living in the dense forests of the Anantagiri hills. The trial involved over 300 drone sorties in a 45-day period.
The findings of the trial, outlined in the report 'Medicine from the Sky, India: How Drones Can Make Primary Healthcare Accessible to All,' offer a practical vision for delivering essential medicines to citizens who lack access to basic healthcare, the WEF said.
The programme follows the Drone Rules 2021, introduced by the government as a more liberalised regime for unmanned aircraft systems, which is expected to transform core sectors of the economy, including logistics, agriculture, healthcare and emergency response.
It also follows a drive to improve rural healthcare, with a range of programmes aimed at making it more accessible and inexpensive. The pandemic highlighted the lack of access to healthcare for rural communities due to infrastructure, supply and transport challenges.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia described the programme as "pathbreaking."
"With the recent liberalisation of drone rules and the numerous government incentives for the drone sector, the stage is set for this innovative technology to flourish in India," he said.
"To that end, the Medicine from the Sky initiative has demonstrated how the country can successfully make use of cutting-edge drone technology to ensure no one is left behind in terms of access to primary healthcare. We are hopeful that subsequent phases of this initiative will mainstream drones in healthcare," the minister added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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