Bringing a drone into India just got a lot harder

Drone lovers, it’s bad news! From now, anyone entering India with drones will have to declare its possession upon arrival.

This because the Indian government has recently decided to include drones in the list of prohibited and taxed goods starting April 1. The recent move seems to be a step in government's efforts to restrict the use of drones in the country.

As of now, drones are imported easily in the absence of official guidelines and are used for filming royal weddings and Bollywood films. Moreover, Chinese toy drone companies are selling their products freely in several cities and online stores to give civilians a chance to experience how these unmanned aerial vehicles work. These have been a hit among Indians because they come really cheap.

India is still miles away from having clear laws and regulations for drones, but several countries across the world have innovative ways in place to regulate the use of drones. In the Netherlands, police trains eagles to grab rogue drones. In Tokyo, the police uses drones with nets to catch dangerous drones. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration requires the country's users to register their small unmanned aircraft with the government. But in India, it is still illegal for civilians to use drones due to security threats. Anyone seen flying a drone in a public place usually lands in the police net. Even as cops know it’s not a serious criminal act, they feel there is a need to investigate because, they say, terrorists can use paragliders and remote-controlled microlight aircraft for attacks.

Earlier this year, an unidentified drone spotted near the international airport in Delhi had raised serious security concerns. As a result, Delhi cops were asked to monitor drone usage before India's Republic Day in January. In one such incident in Mumbai, a drone was found photographing an atomic research centre in July. Since then, police has been issuing a monthly order against using drones.

Most recently, an American tourist was arrested for photographing the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Khajuraho with a drone camera without taking the government's permission. When he was questioned, he said he was not aware that drone photography was not allowed there. He also said there were no signboards anywhere which said it was prohibited in the area.

In India, only the government can use drones to monitor the country's borders and surveillance in conflict-ridden areas. The only time when the cops planned to do something different with drones was in Lucknow. They planned on using the device as pepper spray to control crowds.

(Image credits: Reuters)