Swiggy, ANRA get approval to start drone trials for food delivery

Mumbai: An ANRA Technologies-led consortium, of which Swiggy is a part, has received clearance from government authorities to commence drone trials for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in India.

Over the next several weeks, the flight team will conduct BVLOS food and medical package deliveries in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah and Punjab’s Rupnagar districts using ANRA’s SmartSkies technology, the integrated airspace management firm said.

The development comes two days after ET reported that the first experimental long-range drone flights in India are due to take off later this month. If successful, they could pave the way for drone-based delivery of medicines and vaccines to electronics and food.


“Swiggy is excited about the potential that drones offer and look forward to trials on BVLOS operations for the use case of food delivery,” the company said in a statement. “Through Swiggy’s association with ANRA, Swiggy aims to put the long-range proficiencies of drone technology to best use and accomplish some ground-breaking trials.”

Along with Swiggy, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, and drone service provider BetterDrones are part of one consortium that will focus on food delivery. Logistics startup Dunzo is leading another to pilot drone delivery of medicines in Telangana.

“With an increasing number of technological innovations taking place to smoothen and fasten the last-mile journey, it only becomes natural for us to explore the latest avenues available to maximise the benefit to our consumers,” said Shilpa Gnaneshwar, principal program manager at Swiggy.

The food delivery platform’s hyperlocal initiative includes Swiggy Genie and grocery delivery service Instamart.