A decision by India’s National Disaster Response Force to use drones to help Nepal map the scale of devastation caused by last week’s earthquake – more than 7,000 people have died – indicates how India has enthusiastically taken to these pilotless aircraft.
With 22.5% of the world’s unmanned aerial vehicle imports, between 1985 and 2014, India ranks first among drone-importing nations, followed by United Kingdom and France.