Milestones planned CASE STUDY Medicine from the Sky The Medicine from the Sky (MFTS) initiative was the first coordinated drone programme under India’s liberalized drone regime. It was facilitated by C4IR India in collaboration with the state governments of Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh in coordination with India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India. The medical delivery programme launched as a trial operation in Vikarabad, Telangana: drones were used to transport medicines, vaccines and samples to local health centres from medical stores and district hospitals. About 10,000 doses of vaccines were transported using drones over a period of six weeks, covering more than 850 kilometres (530 miles). This was followed by a full-scale pilot programme in Arunachal Pradesh, where lessons learned from the trial were implemented to document how health systems respond when drones are integrated. The Arunachal Pradesh pilot programme was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH) programme managed by IPE Global. The Himalayan drone network completed two years of operations on 15 August 2024, India’s Independence Day, making it the country’s longest-running drone delivery network.5 With this initiative, Arunachal Pradesh uses drones to deliver emergency drugs, vaccines and blood samples safely to tribal and rural communities isolated in mountainous terrain following prolonged rain, landslides and other natural calamities; to date, upwards of 700 flights have flown more than 15,000 aerial kilometres (9,300 miles), delivering more than 12,000 medical products. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, celebrated the MFTS scheme as an “inspirational story” and showcased it at the AAM symposium in Montreal in September 2024.6 5. World Economic Forum. (2024). Medicine from the Sky: Community outcomes of drone deliveries in the Himalayan region. https://www3.weforum.org/ docs/WEF_Medicine_from_the_Sky_2024.pdf. 6. World Economic Forum. (2024). World Economic Forum’s “Medicine from the Sky – India” gains ICAO accolades for pioneering drone health supply chains. https://initiatives.weforum.org/aviate-india/icao-aam-medicinefromthesky. Milestones 6–12 MONTHS 12–18 MONTHS Community conventions and field studies planned to design and develop controlled testing environmentsDevelop a sandbox for drone implementation with at least two partnering states, benefitting 100,000 citizens throughout these two states with better last-mile delivery services Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) India – an Impact Journey 30

C4IR India An Impact Journey 2025