On the heels of last year's devastating natural gas pipeline explosion in the southern India state of Andhra Pradesh, killing ultimately 24 people and injuring many more, GAIL, India's largest natural gas pipeline operator, will begin deploying drones in a bid to raise safety standards and to create a new culture of safety throughout its operations.

In the first instance, drones will be used to detect encroachments around GAIL's 11,000 km pipeline network, all illegal human intervention substantially raises the risk of accidents and the scale of damage. But they will also be used to monitor the condition of the company's pipelines, as drones equipped with smart technologies can sense creeping leaks, a telling sign that something is amiss and that action needs to be taken.

Ashutosh Karnatak, Director of Projects, says GAIL is fashioning a new culture of safety: "We are migrating from reactive to proactive management, from a breakdown maintenance culture to a predictive maintenance culture. The drone will be more accurate. It will also be more cost - effective, as it can help replace our foot and helicopter patrols."

GAIL will launch a pilot project within two - there months, where a drone will fly over a 200 km stretch of pipeline, collecting all relevant information using smart sensors. In this regard the company will soon issue a tender seeking drone services.