To ensure the last mile coverage in vaccination, the government of India has invited bid for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs in the remote areas and to those with difficult terrains in the selected locations of the country.
As per the bid document, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in association with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur carried out a successful study that has evolved a standard protocol for the delivery of vaccines through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).
The HLL Infra Tech Service on the behalf of ICMR has called for expression of interest (EOI) through the Central Public Procurement Portal from experienced Indian agencies for the delivery of the medical supplies by UAVs.
The ICMR will involve UAV operators who will be able to direct beyond visual line of sights (BVLOS) operation in a fixed pre-defined flight paths according to the tender criteria. It further stated that the UAVs must be capable to deliver medical supplies payload at the selected locations in India and return back to the command station.
The bid document expressed that during the pandemic several agencies are cooperating and helping the government to prevent and control the spread of COVID 19. Furthermore, it informed that to strengthen the delivery of the vaccines, ICMR successfully conducted a feasibility study to deliver vaccines through UAV in collaboration with the IIT, Kanpur.
The document elaborated that on the grounds of the initial result of the study, ICMR has developed this standard protocol for the delivery of vaccines through UAV. It affirmed that followed by the obtained experience, ICMR will develop a model for vaccine delivery by UAV in the field practice area to attain and cover the last mile coverage at the difficult terrains in the selected locations.
It assured that the main aim behind the proposed work is to develop a medical supplies delivery model and its feasibility in the field practice area through the use of UAVs that can reach remote and inaccessible areas in the selected locations of India.
As far as the specifications are concerned, UAV’s must be enable to cover a minimum aerial distance of 35 km, it should be able to take off vertically and carry a minimum payload of 4 kg. It should be capable to return to the command station after delivering the payload. At first, the UAV operators will be deployed for a period of 90 days and latter it may get extended depending on the performance and the need of the program.
