Anti-Covid fight: Drones being used to to disinfect Varanasi

Amid the country-wide, anti-corona fight, specially designed drones have been pressed into service to disinfect Varanasi, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, said the office of Principal Scientific Adviser on Thursday.

Hs novel disinfection measure would soon be replicated in other cities of the country, the PSA office said.

A statement by the PSA's office said it has collaborated with Invest India, the country's National Investment Promotion Agency through the AGNIi Mission, and Invest India's Business Immunity Platform (BIP) - to facilitate the use of specially designed drones to sanitise Varanasi against the coronavirus.

The Invest India's BIP is designed as a comprehensive resource to help businesses and investors get real-time updates on India's active response to COVID-19.

Accelerating Growth of New India's Innovations or AGNIi is a national initiative under the guidance and support of the PSA, with an aim to support the ongoing efforts to boost the innovation ecosystem in the country.

The statement said using drones, authorities could spray disinfectant over large, crowded, vulnerable urban areas by protecting city-dwellers from Covid-19, while reducing human contact to keep frontline workers safe.

Helping Garuda Aerospace, a Chennai-based drone startup, has been roped in for this, it said.

Drone operations in Varanasi have just commenced. The team will now extend similar capabilities to more cities across India, it said.