Sci-Tech · 18 Jul 2026

i-DRONE initiative ICMR TB

With reference to the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) i-DRONE initiative pilot in Telangana, which one of the following best describes the primary mechanism by which it reduced the cost and time of rural TB diagnosis?

AIt deployed portable molecular diagnostic machines directly at every sub-centre, eliminating the need for centralised testing units
BIt used drones to transport sputum samples from sub-centres and primary health centres to central TB testing units, instead of requiring patients to travel
CIt introduced a new low-cost TB diagnostic test that could be administered without laboratory confirmation
DIt replaced physical sample collection entirely with an AI-based remote diagnostic system
This question is based on: How Drones Cut a Rural TB Diagnosis from ₹9,451 to ₹91
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About this question

Why in news

An ICMR study found that routing TB sputum samples by drone instead of making patients travel to distant testing units cut average diagnosis costs from ₹9,451 to ₹91 and turnaround time from 15 days to 5 in Telangana's Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district.

Why for UPSC

This tests whether the candidate understands the precise mechanism of the intervention - logistics redesign via sample transport, not new diagnostic technology - a distinction UPSC often probes to check genuine comprehension over headline-level recall.

Prelims summary

The i-DRONE initiative uses a hub-and-spoke drone network to transport TB sputum samples from rural sub-centres to central testing units, cutting patient travel burden, cost and diagnostic turnaround time.

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