When the struggle towards Covid-19 was in full swing final yr, we obtained to listen to about a number of drone startups speaking about bringing a revolution in delivering medicines, vaccines and groceries. Drone supply startups made headlines claiming how they’re the subsequent massive factor in India. Articles like Swiggy to guide the drone supply revolution in India and the way simply meals supply apps can ‘fly’ piping scorching pasta to your balcony actually bombarded our social media timelines. But at any time when there’s a disaster, the place drone deliveries can truly make a distinction, these startups are hardly in on the motion.
Consider the tragic ropeway accident in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district the place two persons are already useless and 48 others are caught in round 12 cabins within the ropeway. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is in-charge of the rescue operation together with NDRF, commandos and consultants. Just consider the plight of the victims trapped in ropeway cabins within the scorching warmth of round 40-degrees.
The query is: can’t we use drones to ship water bottles, ORS packets and snacks to assist these in want? Why can’t drone supply startups think about taking part in rescue operations as a CSR effort as an alternative of distributing press releases and making an attempt to look cool on social media by delivering pizzas?
Now, one might say that the rescue operations are the accountability of the federal government companies and the armed forces will do a greater job. You might really feel that personal firms can’t be instructed what to do. And frankly, nobody is making an attempt to point out instructions to the sensible startup minds. It’s completely high quality to thoughts your ‘personal enterprise’ and your PR. But there’s no denying that drone supply startups are lacking the chance to be the actual deal in India as an alternative of gathering ‘likes’ on social media.
If you’re questioning that drones might not be capable of carry sufficient load or the startups will not be succesful sufficient then you’re mistaken. In February 2022, Skye Air Mobility, a Delivery by Drones Logistic Company headquartered in New Delhi, showcased their capabilities by lifting a mixed payload of 100 kg of dry turmeric by way of a number of autonomous BVLoS flights within the Mulieh Village of Meghalaya at Lakadong Turmeric Fly-off Event. The startup is claimed to have accomplished over 900 profitable autonomous BVLoS flights delivering numerous healthcare and grocery objects in 2021.
Do observe that this text just isn’t supposed to single out one startup. For the document, there are 12 well-known drone startups in India and a few of them have been based means again in 2007. These startups are centered on medical, agriculture, mining, mapping and different sectors the place drones may be of great assist. To identify a number of, there’s Aarav Unmanned Systems, Aotom Technology, BharatRohan, Enercomp Solutions, conceptForge, IoTechWorld, Magnum Wings LLP amongst others. While these startups are already engaged on creating the drone ecosystem in India, what we hardly ever get to see is the urgency to take part in emergencies.
Drones have been used up to now for rescue ops and it’s not one thing unheard in India. But when will drones and drone supply startups come to the forefront when wanted?
