New Delhi, Sept. 7 -- Drones may soon be deployed to spot open burning and construction dust, track waste dumping and encroachments along the Yamuna, monitor vulnerable areas for women's safety and even act as rapid first responders to emergency calls, as per the Delhi government's draft drone policy. It also envisages creating more than 25 drone companies, training at least 5,000 people, and generating over 1,000 jobs over the next five years. The draft, a copy of which was accessed by HT, was prepared by the Delhi government's Department of Information Technology. It proposes an indicative expenditure of Rs.85 crore during 2026-27 to 2030-31 to build a drone ecosystem covering manufacturing, research, training, testing and government-led deployments. The government expects the policy to attract more than Rs.100 crore in investments and generate over Rs.250 crore in revenues from drone and allied activities. Among the proposed priority applications is surveillance of vulnerable and high-footfall areas, with Delhi Police and the home department potentially using drones for situational assessment and emergency response. The policy proposes using drones for real-time monitoring of air pollution hotspots, industrial emissions, construction dust and open burning. For the Yamuna, drones could identify pollution sources, waste dumping, encroachments, and changes in river conditions. Municipal bodies could deploy them to monitor waste accumulation, landfill sites and sanitation operations. A major industry attraction will be financial incentives. The draft provides for a capital subsidy of up to 20% of fixed capital investment, capped at Rs.5 crore per unit, for eligible manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities, R&D centres and RPTOs. Meanwhile, Delhi Information Technology minister Pankaj Singh told HT, "We plan to bring the policy in public domain by the end of this month following cabinet approval."...