India's 1st intra-city drone delivery performed by IIT Madras, FedEx
What's the story
FedEx and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) have successfully completed India's first intra-city drone delivery flight trials in Bengaluru. The project was conducted under the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT Madras, and tested high-speed drone operations in urban airspace. It also checked their potential to improve network efficiency and reduce dependence on road transport.
Efficiency improvement
Drone delivery cuts transit time
The trials have validated a mid-mile drone logistics link between Electronic City Phase II and a location near Bangalore International Airport Limited. The analysis by the FedEx SMART Centre showed that a 53km road route, which takes more than 60 minutes, can be replaced by an aerial route of about 39-42km. During the trials, this cut one-way transit time to some 21 minutes.
Regulatory compliance
Drones navigated through airport yellow and red zones
The drones successfully navigated through Airport Yellow and Red Zones with approvals from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This initiative is part of FedEx's global efforts to develop safe and scalable logistics solutions. Nitin Navneet Tatiwala, the VP of Marketing, Customer Experience, and Air Network at FedEx, said this milestone reflects the SMART Centre's broader research agenda across air cargo optimization and electric vehicle integration.
Future prospects
How these trials can help in the future
Prof. Satyanarayanan R Chakravarthy, a core faculty member at the FedEx SMART Centre, IIT Madras, said their work is moving beyond theoretical research to prove the efficacy of high-impact solutions that can redefine global logistics. Prof. Arshinder Kaur, the Professor In-Charge at the FedEx SMART Centre, also emphasized how these trials show their commitment to driving innovation across modern supply chains and accelerating cutting-edge technologies.