Rajasthan Police has trained 17 personnel in drone operations at the Saptashakti Drone Training School in Lalgarh Jatan, Sriganganagar, as the department prepares to expand the use of unmanned aircraft for surveillance, crowd management, drug-trafficking monitoring and law-and-order duties.
The specialised Police Drone Integration Course covered surveillance, mission planning, flight safety, first-person-view drone simulation, assembly and maintenance, and airspace management. The trainees also carried out surveillance exercises and mission-based flights during both daytime and night-time conditions.
The training was conducted at SSDTS, and two of the personnel received Remote Pilot Certificates issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation through the school. The certification provides formal recognition for those operators, while the wider training programme has prepared the 17 personnel to plan and conduct drone missions and operate the equipment, according to the report.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) V K Singh said the programme was focused on integrating drones into police operations. The training addressed both the operation of the equipment and the planning required to deploy drones for specific missions, including surveillance and security work.
Rajasthan Police has also prepared a draft roadmap covering 24 proposed applications of drones in policing. The roadmap includes their use in surveillance and operations, along with requirements and procedures for deployment. The department has been working on expanding drone use for these purposes, officials said.
The proposed applications include monitoring drug trafficking across large areas, managing crowds and supporting law-and-order duties. These uses would allow police teams to observe wider areas during operations and provide aerial surveillance during situations requiring security monitoring, although the report does not specify the locations, equipment numbers or operating protocols for each proposed application.
The training comes as police departments increasingly examine drones as operational tools for covering large or difficult-to-monitor areas. In Rajasthan, the department’s draft roadmap indicates that the use of drones is being considered as a structured policing capability rather than as an isolated equipment purchase.
The reported training programme also places emphasis on mission planning, airspace management, maintenance and safety, alongside piloting skills. Those elements are relevant to the department’s planned use of drones in public spaces and during security operations, where flight procedures and operational coordination would be required.
The next stage is linked to the department’s draft roadmap, which sets out the proposed applications and the requirements and procedures for deployment. The report does not state when the roadmap will be finalised or provide a timetable for wider operational deployment.
