In first of its kind partnership, the Maharashtra Government has tied up with a private operator Zilpline to use its logistics network of drones for delivery of blood products and emergency medicines to people in remote areas in collaboration with Serum Institute of India (SII).
Being touted as world’s first and only national-scale drone delivery service, the Maharashtra's Medical Drone Delivery Service (MMDDS) will be launched in early 2020.
The MMDDS, which is being undertaken as part of the Maharashtra Government’s vision to use drone delivery, seeks to establish a universal seven-days-a-week access to lifesaving and critical medicines for each of its 120 million citizens over the coming years.
Zipline drones will make on-demand and emergency deliveries of blood products, vaccines and life-saving medications.
Under the tie-up, Zipline will establish a total of 10 distribution centres across Maharashtra in phases in the coming years
“The State Government's goal is to put almost all of its 120 million citizens within minutes of a lifesaving medical delivery by drone. In the first phase of operations, two distribution centres located near Pune and Nandurbar will be established to service public health facilities in those regions beginning in early 2020,” an official spokesperson said.
Each of the two Zipline distribution centers in Maharashtra will cover a delivery area of more than 20,000 square km. They will collectively be capable of serving up to 20 million people.