India’s Drone Policy: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Abstract

Human civilization has seen tremendous development in technology in the last century, particularly the last few decades. One hallmark of this development is drones. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are a legion of modern day technology which are capable of flying; and whose capabilities increase, with reduction in cost, by the day. The main objective was to enable them to be used in warfare, but has now spread to other purposes. Whether remotely controlled or via an application, they have the capability of reaching remote places, hence why they are being incorporated into various sectors. They have multiple purposes, ranging from marine and land wildlife protection, movie productions, disaster response, to search and rescue missions and criminal investigations. UAVs are now installed with a variety of sensor systems such as high-definition and still cameras, lab on molecular sensors to detect hazardous substances, etc.1 Though drones were developed for military purposes, over the past few years, private companies have also adopted drones to improve business. Amazon and google have spent millions in developing drone system for faster delivery.2 As market of drones grows, so do the debates on how to regulate these drones and the issues of their usage. With the increase in the market for drones, governments are trying to include drones in their domestic aviation laws, to prevent causalities and provide accurate information surveillance. Given the large scale purposes and applications of drones, it is crucial that the policies must adhere to the aim of filling the gaps.