Swiggy starts testing drone delivery for food in India

Jun 26,2024
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Food delivery giant Swiggy has reportedly started testing drone deliveries in India. The company has partnered with Noida-based software company ANRA Technologies to commence the trials in the coming days.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had permitted some companies, including Swiggy to carry out drone deliveries for food or other essential commodities last year amidst the global pandemic.

Now, ANRA has gained final clearances from the Indian authorities including, DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to start Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries in the country. After months of planning, assessments, and air traffic control integration, ANRA launched its first sortie in India recently on June 16.

“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 maximize the benefit to our consumers,” said Shilpa Gnaneshwar, the Principal Program Manager at Swiggy.

“We are excited about the potential that Drones offer and look forward to the trials on BVLOS operations for the use case of food delivery. Through our association with ANRA, we aim to put the long-range proficiencies of drone technology to best use and accomplish some ground-breaking trials,” she further added.

Utilizing ANRA’s advanced proprietary SmartSkies technology, Swiggy aims to start testing drone delivery in India. Reportedly, first delivery trials will commence in Etah and Rupnagar districts. Moreover, ANRA has also partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar to commence drone deliveries of medical packages.