The Government of India has directed drones to be installed with a kill switch that can disable a drone in case it turns rogue

“The government wants drone manufacturers to add a chip at the hardware level to ensure that security agencies can disable the drone remotely in case it turns rogue,” ET quoted an executive as saying.

According to industry analysts, the technology is available and can be retrofitted in the existing drones.

“Independent tracking hardware equipped with capabilities to interfere with the drones sensors including GPS can be retrofitted to the drones to activate manufacturer safety modes like ‘return to home’ or ‘autoland on spot’ or cut power in extreme cases to command the drones remotely by regulators," ET quoted an expert as saying.

Drone sightings have caused a scare in airports worldwide.

In December, an unidentified drone used for a photo-shoot strayed into the flight path of HAL's Rudra combat helicopter in Bangalore, India.

Drones resulted in the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights and affected the travel of 140,000 passengers before Christmas in Gatwick in December last month. After the incident, London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports ordered military grade anti-drone equipment to reassure the airport that it was safe for planes to take off and land.