<span style="color: #222222;">The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya launched delivery of COVID-19 vaccine by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone in Bishnupur district of Manipur.<br />''<br />''Shri Mandaviya launched the initiative through virtual mode from Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi today.<br />''<br />''The delivery of COVID-19 vaccine by drone is being taken up by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under its project- Drone Resource and Outreach in North East India (i-DRONE).<br />''<br />''During the field testing held today, the drone successfully delivered COVID-19 vaccine from Loukoipat to Karang Island in Bishnupur.<br />''<br />''Covering a distance of 25 kilometres, the drone-based vaccine transportation took approximately 15 minutes to deliver which, otherwise will take about one hour to deliver through road transport.<br />''<br />''According to ICMR officials, today's vaccine delivery from 'plain to island' is the first in SouthEast Asia.<br />''<br />''ICMR officials also mentioned that the i-DRONE project was started for the first time in Manipur to field test vaccine delivery in difficult terrains of the country with study sites selected from four districts.</span><br />