Meet Jasmine Nikh, the first female drone operator in India’s health sector

Arunachal Pradesh as well as the entire Northeast region can boast of Jasmine Nikh, an ambitious girl in her late 20s, who is the first female drone operator in the nation’s health sector, especially if we speak about the Medicine From The Sky project.

Hailing from the Lower Subansiri district, for the time being Jasmine is currently a resident of Seppa owing to her call of duty. Nikhe completed her schooling from Naharalagun and has graduated from the Institute of Technology and Future Trends (ITFT),Chandigarh.

Jasmine belongs to the Nyshi community and is an ambitious girl who is optimistic about her goals in life. She is currently working as a drone operator under Medicine From The Sky project in East Kameng District Arunachal Pradesh.

When she was asked as to how did her journey start, Jasmine Nikh said that it all began when she was browsing her phone. She stated,”I was browsing My phone then I came across a PDF sent by one of My friend in a group. I went through it and came to know that some new projects have been introduced here in Arunachal Pradesh where drones are being used. I felt good since drones have been pressed into service, I too have the experience of paragliding and I gave a thought as to why I should not try for this.”

But things initially did not turn out to be in her favour since there was no vacancy available in the MFTS projects. However, things changed in no time. Jasmine Nikh said,”Initially there was no vacancy but I got in touch with My friends who were already engaged as Ground Crew in the MFTS project. After that within 3 months i received a call about a vacany for the project. Initially, I appeared for an interview online and after being selected online, I appeared for offline interview at Seppa and after I got selected I was asked to join within a week.”

Speaking on the fact as to what created interest in her mind regarding operating a drone, Jasmine said,”I want to do new new things, want to learn more. For this opted for operating drone and above that I am from the paragliding background. Both are related aspects.”

Jasmine also spoke on her training and operations. She added,”I am undergoing training in Seppa. I learn as much as I can and now I can operate it (drone). When I joined first, I had only assisted. First I began from the ground related work and after gradual upgradation reached the Flights Op stage. Now, I can operate it.”

When asked as what according to her is the best experience so far, Jasmine Nikh expressed her happiness over the fact that introduction of drone technology in the medical setor has brought in revolutionary changes. She also referred to the response that the MFTS project has recieved from the people.

In this regard she said,”Till now the best experience is that people in village areas immediately come to our drone team and make requests as per their requirements such as collection of samples, getting access to medical reports, undergoing health checkups. Even they come and say,”I am not well. Please collect My blood sample.” This shows how the use of drone technology has brought improvements in the health sector.

Besides, Jasmine also narrated as to how she is being recognized while being on the Ground Zero. She said,”When I go to villages, people wonder as to how a girl can operate a drone. They ask me how do You do it, where did You learn to operate, and how do You control it. They are curious and frequently I have to face these kind of queries. They also praise me too.”

Apart from this, Jasmine Nikh also gave a brief on how the Medicine From The Sky (MFTS) project is making an impact on those living in far flung places of the frontier state, especially in reducing the time gap.

Jasmine said,”Medicine From The Sky is a project under the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Through this service, where there is a patient in a remote village than that person does not have to come to the District Hospital. For Small tests like blood test, TB test etc the patients have to travel a long distance, if not in the district hospitals than they have to come to the capital. To sort it out, drones have proved to be really helpful. Because through drones we pick up blood samples as well as for TB, HIV/AIDS and other forms of diseases. Our main job is to bring and transport (medical service). The Medical Coordinating Team at the villages collect the samples and send it to us and we do the necessary examinations here and then we send the reports through Whatsapp.”