The PTR initiative, organised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was a collaborative venture between WII, US-based company Conservation Drones and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International.

It was given the clean chit by the defence ministry, after which it was kicked off in January. Similar permits would be necessary for the scale-up as well.

Ramesh said it's high time that India applied such multi-faceted approaches to wildlife, seeing that such measures are being used to keep an eye out on critically endangered animal species and human activities in countries like Nepal and Indonesia.

"Given India's vast biodiversity and the issues plaguing wildlife, aerial surveillance is of urgent need. We are including 10 sites, corresponding to each of the bio-geographic zones of the country in the plan. These include the Sunderbans, the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and other landscapes, the scientist said.

In addition to acting as a deterrent to poachers, Ramesh said, technological interventions could also make the field of wildlife management look "attractive" and "lift the morale" of officials.

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