True: The Centre permits the Telangana government to use drones to conduct a feasibility study on delivering COVID-19 vaccines.

By: Shashi M
January 17 2022

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The Aviation ministry gave a conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, for experimenting within the visual line of sight. The Telangana government was granted permission to use drones to distribute vaccines within the Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) on an experimental basis by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation On April 29, 2021. The conditional exclusion from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, effective from 2021, will last for a year or until new orders are issued. However, the ministry did not specify which vaccine would be included in this trial delivery. The ministry granted similar permission to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)on April 22 to conduct a feasibility study on using drones to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Union Health Ministry, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed 15 crores. Registration for the new demographic groups qualifying for the phase-3 COVID-19 vaccination plan has begun. On April 30, India saw 3,86,452 new COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, the highest single-day increase so far, bringing the total number of cases to 1,87,62,976 and active cases to 31 lakh. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.