The post has been delivered using a drone for the first time ever!
This operation has been conducted as a part of the pilot project by the Department of Posts in Kutch, Gujarat.
Read on to find out all the details about this first-ever drone delivery of the post!
First-Ever Postal Delivery By Drones In India
The drone delivered mail over a distance of 46 km in 25 minutes, as confirmed by officials. It was sent from Habay village in Bhuj taluka to Ner village in Bhachau taluka of Kutch district. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) in Ahmedabad has issued a release about the same.
As per the release, the operation was carried out by the postal department under the guidance of the Union Ministry of Communications
It also states that the success of this pilot project will now enable postal deliveries by drone in the future.
As per the release, “Keeping pace with modern technology, the Indian Postal Department has successfully tested for the first time in the country’s postal history a pilot project to deliver mail with the help of drone technology in Kutch district of Gujarat.”
Pilot Project Studies Location, Cost Of Drone Delivery
The Union Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan has tweeted that the delivery that was made was a medical parcel.
His tweet said, “As the country celebrated the #DroneMahotsav2022, the Department of Posts successfully conducted a pilot test for delivery of parcels through drones in Kutch, Gujarat. The Drone successfully delivered the medicine parcel covering an aerial distance of 46 Km in 30 mins.”
The pilot project has studied the cost of delivery by drones, the geographical location between the two locations, and possible coordination among staff during the delivery process, including possible roadblocks.
Additionally, the release has stated that if the experiment is commercially successful, the delivery of postal parcels will be much easier.
Swiggy, Dunzo, SpiceJet To Start Experimental Drone Flight Operations
We had reported last year that Swiggy, Dunzo, and 17 other similar companies have now been given the go-ahead for experimental drone flight operations by the civil aviation ministry.
SpiceJet, Dunzo Air Consortium, Skylark Drones and Swiggy, these companies also include Virginia Tech India, ShopX Omnipresent Consortium, Asteria Aerospace Private Limited, Centillion Networks Private Limited, Marut Dronetech Private Limited and Sagar Defence Engineering Private Limited, as confirmed by the ministry.
The ministry has tweeted about this decision that these 20 companies will be given an exemption from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, for “conducting the BVLOS experimental flights.”
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the “Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022,” which is the biggest drone festival of India. He stated that the use of drones will see a drastic increase in various industries such as agriculture, sports, defense, and disaster management.