Chennai, Sep 13 (IANS): India's principal mapping agency Survey of India has decided to go for drone-based large-scale mapping in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Accordingly, the Survey of India has hired city-based drone-as-a-service provider Garuda Aerospace for the project, said a top company official.

"We have been awarded the largest service-based contract to deploy 15 drones in UP by the Survey of India, Lucknow," Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder & CEO, Garuda Aerospace, told IANS.

Garuda will deploy high-endurance mapping, surveying and surveillance drones to ensure highly accurate data capturing, which will then be processed for informed decision making by the Survey of India, he added.

The company is equipped with a fleet of 300 drones and 500 pilots located in 84 Indian cities making large-scale simultaneous execution of projects possible, Jayaprakash said.

Referring to the recent changes made by the Central government in the drone rules, Jayaprakash said such progressive policies have put India on a fast-track in the usage of drones.