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 The Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted permission to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for conducting photography and videography using drones at its new Terminal 2.

Earlier, on October 31, the airport authority had sought permission for use of drones for the said purposes.

Whereas the applicant shall seek permission from Ministry of Home Affairs and Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) regarding drone operations in the red zone and from the concerned air traffic control authority regarding airspace clearance for the afore-mentioned purpose, said the Ministry in its order issued on November 4.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said that the permission shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the said permission from the MHA, CISF and the concerned ATC authority. The permission shall be valid for a period of one month from the date of issue or until further orders whichever is earlier, said the Ministry.

Drones offer many benefits in various sectors of the economy and also public welfare. These include -- agriculture, vaccine delivery, rural property mapping, search and rescue, surveillance, transportation, defence and law enforcement etc.

Drones have been used for various governmental services, particularly in the remote and inaccessible areas in India. Government agencies have used drones for crowd surveillance during Covid-19; anti-locust operations; mapping of rural residential properties under the SVAMITVA Scheme; test flights of medical supplies in hill states of north India and northeastern region, to name a few.