Can India use drones to save lives and prevent critical medicine wastage

India loses nearly 20-25% of its vaccines and temperature-sensitive medicines each year; drones could significantly reduce this waste through timely delivery.

- Rajarshi Chatterjee

If a lifesaving medicine such as snake antivenom, rabies injections, or a critical medical device like a defibrillator can be delivered on time to remote areas during the golden hour, the chances of survival increase threefold. At the same time, it reduces inventory costs and the need to maintain refrigerated units in regions where the electricity supply is neither constant nor reliable. These are expensive devices that often end up being stored in non-maintainable conditions and wasted. Instead, they can be kept safely at a district health centre and dispatched by drones within minutes to neighbouring villages—whenever and wherever required—even in remote, hilly terrains or disaster-affected zones,” said Vinay MK, CEO of Amber Wings. Founded in 2019 and incubated at IIT Madras, Amber Wings operates under Ubifly Technologies, the parent company of The ePlane Company.

Reaching India's remote regions with essential healthcare remains a critical challenge. Over 60% of the population lives in rural areas, yet most well-equipped hospitals and specialists are concentrated in cities, leaving smaller health centres under-resourced. Villages in mountainous, forested, or flood-prone areas face blocked or unreliable roads, delaying delivery of blood, vaccines, and urgent medicines. Globally, last-mile delivery is a major obstacle, with supplies often delayed, damaged, or lost. In India, 5–10% of the 30,000 government-run primary healthcare centres are nearly inaccessible due to location or disaster risk.

Experts like Vinay highlight that drones can overcome these barriers, enabling faster, reliable delivery of lifesaving medicines. Success depends on public trust and strong regulatory frameworks for safe integration into healthcare logistics.

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