The incidents of Drones loaded with the weapons, ammunition, drugs and sometimes simple maps and drawing crossing borders and LoC in the northern frontiers particularly in Jammu region from Pakistan have alarmed the security apparatus especially the security forces operating in Jammu Kashmir.
The latest one was reported on June 7 when the alert troops of BSF after sensing the humming sound and some signals resorted to firing briefly along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu district after which led to suspicion of a drone flying around. The sound was coming from a height of about 800 metres. A senior unnamed officer of the BSF has been reported saying that drone threat is present everywhere along the India-Pakistan border but security forces are alert to foil any nefarious design from across the border in the region.
Only last year in March 2021, the drone policy of India was changed after a terrorist incident in Jammu and Kashmir in which a drone was involved. Several incidents were reported thereafter until July 29, 2021 when suspected drones were spotted at three different places in Jammu Division, and the drones were shot down around 8 km inside the International border with Pakistan. The police had also recovered 5 kg of improvised explosive device (IED), which was to be assembled and to be used by terrorists, according to the police sources. Even only two days before the Drone Policy 2021 was adopted with the rules notified on August 26, it was reported quoting intelligence sources that terrorists were planning back-to-back drone attacks.
Army intelligence and the central intelligence agencies had also intercepted such conversations of terrorists. There were other reported threats too, such as to the environment due to air pollution by fossil fuel the drones may be using, and also the risks of accidents due to violations of air traffic rules.
But it was following the intervention of the PMO that intended to put the new technology devices to commercial and professional use, the aviation ministry had junked the rule it had put in place just a few months back in March 2021.
The PMO enthusiasm last year was to get liberal rules for drones in the country claiming that it was to leverage India's strengths in innovation, technology and engineering to make India a drone hub.
At that time the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union Government K Vijay Raghavan had said that the present new policy had been put in place under careful monitoring directly by the Prime Minister with trust in users as its basis and to ensure economic welfare of the people.
The ‘trust in users' logic is now proving dangerous for India's security, because no remote pilot license is required for micro drones for non-commercial use and nano drones. The liberal licensing and lower maximum penalty for violation of rules has inherent risks to be misused by anti-social, criminal, or terrorist elements.
The inherent dangers of the lacunae perhaps escaped the attention of makers of liberal Drone policy that put the Indian security at high risk which has been revealed by the technical analysis of the seized drones now. The rules urgently needed an in-depth analysis and evaluation to safeguard national security.
