The Andhra Pradesh government has launched a drone delivery initiative to provide healthcare services to remote tribal regions of Alluri Sitarama Raju district, transporting diagnostic samples, essential medicines, and critical medical supplies.
Skye Air Mobility has raised USD 9 million in a Series B funding round to expand its hyperlocal drone delivery services across key metropolitan markets in India.
The Meghalaya government in partnership with startup TechEagle has unveiled Asia's first drone delivery hub and network which is aimed at providing universal access to healthcare for the people in the state, a release said on Tuesday. The project is aimed at delivering vital supplies like drugs, diagnostic samples, vaccines, blood and blood components quickly and safely to different regions of the state using a dedicated drone delivery network, it said. On Monday, the first official drone flight took off from Jengjal Sub Divisional Hospital, which will act as the hub, and delivered medicines to Padeldoba primary health centre in less than 30 minutes, which would otherwise have taken 2.5 hours by road, TechEagle said in the release.
Police in Rajasthan have dismantled a cross-border smuggling network that used drones to drop weapons and heroin near the international border in the Bikaner district. A key accused, Sonu alias Sukhwinder, was arrested for his role as the main handler of the network.
A drone from Skye Air Mobility on Tuesday covered an aerial distance of 104 km in West Bengal to deliver a medicine consignment of Flipkart Health, the longest commercial delivery using an unmanned vehicle in the state, a company statement said on Tuesday. The drone took off from Flipkart's Baruipur hub in South 24 Parganas and delivered medicines at the Healthbuddy Matangini in the state's Purba Medinipur district, it said. The distance between the two places is 185 km by road, and it takes about four-five hours to cover by the surface transport.
Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence wing in Amritsar has dismantled a narcotic smuggling module, arresting three individuals and seizing 12 kg of heroin. The investigation revealed links to a Pakistan-based smuggler using drones for cross-border deliveries.
Odisha-based BonV Aero has partnered with ParaZero Technologies to introduce advanced counter-drone systems to India's defence and security agencies, offering a kinetic solution to neutralise hostile drones.
Punjab Police have dismantled a cross-border drug smuggling operation, arresting two individuals and seizing 64.62 kg of heroin in Amritsar. The investigation revealed links to Pakistan-based smugglers and a Portugal-based handler.
Punjab Police, in collaboration with the Border Security Force, dismantled a cross-border drug smuggling operation, arresting three individuals and seizing a significant quantity of heroin, cash, and a drone used for deliveries from Pakistan.
LIK: Love Insurance Kompany is an ambitious film for its setting, but underscores in both the romance and the humour departments. The world-building is vibrant, the ideas are relevant, but the storytelling lacks the depth and conviction needed to bring them together meaningfully
India's defence sector is on the cusp of a 'super cycle' of growth, driven by escalating geopolitical conflicts and a strong policy push towards indigenous manufacturing, with major players like BEL, HAL, and BDL poised for significant order inflows and technological advancements.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched indigenous robotic technologies, Project Vimana and Project Operion, designed to perform life-saving surgeries on the battlefield, potentially revolutionising emergency care for injured security personnel.
The same technologies that enable State forces to monitor and strike insurgent camps are now being mirrored by non-State actors with increasing sophistication.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
India took the first step towards legalising drones by officially publishing draft rules for drone operations in the Official Gazette on Friday. The rules, termed The Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020, are open for public consultation for 30 days.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'No civilian deserves to live in fear. No civilian deserves to be caught up in a war which is destabilising the entire region.'
The Indian Army is equipping its infantry battalions with drone platoons and raising elite commando units as part of a modernization drive to enhance combat capabilities along the northern and western frontiers. The Army is also procuring new carbines and upgrading its arsenal with advanced weaponry.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Qatar, India's largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries following a halt in production in the wake of an Iranian drone strike -- a disruption that has led to a cut in supplies to Indian industry by up to 40 per cent, sources said.
Punjab Police have dismantled a heroin trafficking network, arresting six individuals including an Army man and a dismissed police personnel. The operation uncovered links to Pakistan-based smugglers using drones to deliver heroin.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Let us start with ourselves. If we can reduce our LPG consumption by half, the problem is solved. Reduce wastage. Alter eating styles. Diversify methods of food preparation, suggests Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has launched drone-powered deliveries of critical medicines - cardiac, respiratory and other essential chronic therapies - to hospitals and pharmacies across Himachal Pradesh in partnership with Skype Air Mobility, a Gurugram-based drone delivery company. Cipla is the first among large Indian pharmaceutical companies to adopt drone-based deliveries to facilitate expedited supply to stockists in remote areas, it claimed. The Mumbai-based firm said the use of drones will support the on-time delivery of its medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, and minimise risks of affecting cold chain products due to temperature excursions.
'The defence forces have come up with certain problems they face in the drone space.' 'Recently we had a meeting at which they presented the problems to many of our start-ups and faculty.' 'Some of the start-ups have started working on the problems.'
Security agencies are concerned about the increasing use of drones by terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir for surveillance and logistics, replacing human networks.
The foremost lesson for India today is to beef up its air defence to cater for multiple drone attacks. As seen in Operation Sindoor, we have come a long way, but there's room for getting better. We must develop a robust and almost impregnable air cover over ourselves, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
However, the tender criteria demands that an entity must be eligible to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations in order to become eligible. Currently, no drone companies are eligible to do BVLOS operations, reports Arindam Majumder.
While many areas compete for resources, defence, education, and adaptation deserve focus for maximum impact, suggests Laveesh Bhandari.
Recalling or relabelling medicines already in the supply chain before September 22 will not be mandatory, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, issuing a fresh set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address industry concerns following the announcement of goods and services tax (GST) revisions.
Maharashtra govt, California-based Zipline to launch the automated delivery service funded by Serum Institute.
Low-level lightweight radars; very short-range air defence systems (launchers and missiles); remotely piloted aerial vehicles; loitering munitions, including vertical take-off and landing systems; different kinds of drones; bullet-proof vests; ballistic helmets; quick-reaction fighting vehicles -- heavy and medium; and night sights for rifles (aiming devices that are visible in low light).
Qcom alone is expected to account for a 60 per cent surge in gig hiring, adding 1.5 million to 2 million roles.
The Indian Army is conducting field trials of several cutting-edge defence systems under 'near-combat conditions', integrating electronic warfare simulations, to assess their performance rigorously, officials said on Saturday.
The new supplies of the Igla-S air defence missiles have been received by the Indian Army a couple of weeks ago and are being provided to the forward formations for taking care of the threat from enemy fighter aircraft, choppers and drones on the borders.
The usage of unmanned drone for the first time in India by a Mumbai-based pizza shop for delivery has come under the scanner of the Mumbai police, which will seek an explanation from the outlet as to why it did not inform them before carrying out the experiment.
It marked a "milestone" in India's journey towards technological self-reliance in military operations, the ministry said on Operation Sindoor.
The Aquila drone is being created to widen the range of internet connectivity around the globe.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances