Is your walkie-talkie really license-free?

In 2018, the WPC (Wireless Planning Commission) of India allocated the frequency of 446MHz-446.2Mhz for PMR (Personal Mobile Radio) communications. The frequency is a part of the UHF (Ultra High Freq.) band and provides good characteristics for use in 2-way walkie talkie handsets. The WPC also specified that if the effective radiated power for radios operating on this frequency were to be restricted to 0.5 watts ERP (Effective Radiated Power), then users in India would not be required to procure any licenses from the Govt., and could use these radios for personal use. However, the manufacturers of these radios were still required to have their designs validated by the appropriate government bodies and procure ‘type licenses’ or what can be termed as a blanket license for manufacturing and selling these handsets in the open market.