The National Clean Air Program (NCAP) was launched in January, 2019 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India for developing a national level strategy to tackle the air pollution throughout the country.
Some government initiatives for tackling air pollution had already been in place. These were:
NATIONAL AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMME: 703 air quality monitoring stations in 71 cities in the country. These measure PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NOx, ammonia (NH3), CO, ozone (O3), and benzene.
NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NAAQS)
• These are the standards for ambient air levels for each pollutant
• These are notified by the CPCB and are updated annually
NATIONAL AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI)
• The AQI converts complex data of various pollutants into a single number.
• There are six AQI categories: good, satisfactory, moderate, poor, very poor, and severe
• These are developed for eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Lead (Pb))
FORTY-TWO ACTION POINTS
The CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) has issued directions for 42 measures for the implementation in major cities, including Delhi/NCR. These include measures related to:
• Vehicular emissions
• Re-Suspension of road dust
• Bio-mass/municipal solid waste (MSW) burning
• Industrial pollution
• Construction and demolition (C&D) activities, and other general steps.
ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION (PREVENTION AND CONTROL) AUTHORITY (EPCA)
• Constituted in 1998 by the Hon’ble Supreme Court to look into the environmental pollution in the NCR region - It has been subsequently re-constituted from time to time
GRADED RESPONSE ACTION PLAN (GRAP) – Delhi/NCR (National Capital Region)
• It is a set of laws made for Delhi/NCR to control air pollution.
• It has different levels of actions based on level of AQI categories.
• It identifies the following sources of pollution in Delhi/NCR
o Vehicles, road dust, biomass burning, construction, power plants, and industries: these contribute to air pollution in all seasons
o Episodic pollution is from stubble burning, increased biomass burning
o During winters, the relative share of vehicles, biomass burning, MSW burning, firecracker, stubble burning, construction, and secondary particles increase.
OTHER MEASURES
• Revision of rules for management of solid, hazardous, plastic, biomedical, and e-waste
• Ban on the burning of leaves, biomass, in certain cities
• Advanced vehicle emission and fuel quality standards– BSIV from 2017 and BS-VI from 2020
• Plan to introduce a voluntary old-vehicle scrapping program
• Introducing a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020
• Introducing gas as an automotive fuel in many cities
• Introduction and enhancement of public transport systems in selected cities
• Ujjawala scheme to accelerate the LPG penetration for cooking in households
• Introducing an energy-efficiency labeling for home appliances such as air conditioners
• More stringent standards for diesel generator sets for standby power generation
NON-ATTAINMENT CITIES
The CPCB has identified a list of polluted cities in which the prescribed NAAQS are violated.
• There are 102 nonattainment cities.
Despite these, the air quality remained unsatisfactory in many cities. Stronger, time-bound actions nationwide are needed, leading to the launch of National Clean Air Program (NCAP).
GOAL: To meet the prescribed ambient air quality standards (annual average levels) at all locations in the country in a specified time period (long-term goal).
TARGET: 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 at the National level 2024, from 2017 levels
OBJECTIVES
1. To ensure stringent implementation of mitigation measures
2. To augment and advance the ambient air quality monitoring network across the country
3. To enhance public awareness, capacity-building and public participation
TENURE: Launched as a 5-year plan starting in 2019; may be further extended to 20–25 years after a mid-term review of the outcomes
APPROACH
1. Cross-sectoral coordination between relevant central ministries, state governments and local bodies.
2. Mainstreaming and integrating the existing policies and programs including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
3. NAPCC: focus will be on five national missions of NAPCC viz.
• National Solar Mission
• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency,
• National Mission on Sustainable Habitat,
• National Mission for a Green India and
• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
4. Augmented implementation of pre-existing initiatives discussed above.
5. Use the smart cities framework to launch the NCAP in the 43 smart cities among the 102 non-attainment cities.
6. The NCAP will be dynamic, evolving with new scientific information and in response to international best practices and experiences
IMPLEMENTATION OF NCAP
1. The CPCB shall implement the nation-wide NCAP
2. The NCAP will be organized through inter-sectoral groups including, the related ministries, the Finance and Health Ministries, NITI Aayog, CPCB, industry, academia, and civil society.
3. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) acts as a nodal agency for the implementation
4. Other ministries viz. MoEF&CC, M/o Power, M/o Petroleum and Natural Gas, M/o New and Renewable Energy, M/o Heavy Industry, M/o Housing and Urban Affairs, M/o Agriculture would include pollution control in their sectoral policies.
5. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is implementing NAPCC
• Five of its 8 missions have direct link with mitigation of air pollution viz. National Mission for a Green India, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Solar Mission, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture,
6. Appropriate indicators will be evolved for measuring the effects of the actions in reducing emissions
MITIGATION ACTIONS
1. A 3-tier system will be created for ensuring effective monitoring:
a. Real time data collection: Collect data from physical sources
b. Data storage and analysis: Store and analyze the data at a central location
c. Action trigger: Automatically trigger actions based on the analyzed data, with minimal human involvement.
2. Use of technology: phone app with features like GPS and cameras to quickly create reports.
3. Third-party Verification: Independent verifiers will manage the system in each state, working closely with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).
4. High-quality IT companies will cross-check the data to ensure accuracy
5. Automation: The system will have pre-set actions triggered based on the data’s status, ensuring faster and more transparent responses
6. Adequate manpower training for these actions
REGIONAL AND TRANSBOUNDARY PLAN
A large part of air pollution in Delhi/NCR is contributed by trans-boundary sources like dust, cooking, waste burning, and industrial emissions, highlighting the need for regional as well as trans-boundry plan for the entire Indo-Gangetic plain.
Regional Policies
1. Transport: stringent norms for fuel and vehicles, electric vehicle policies, taxation policies, etc.
2. Industries—stringent industrial standards, clean fuels, clean technology and strict enforcement
3. Enhanced LPG penetration,
4. Agricultural burning control and management
5. Identifying regional sources and formulate comprehensive regional plan.
Transboundary
• Increasing forestation especially in the western regions of India (Rajasthan and Gujarat) which will act as barriers for trans-boundary dust
o The initiatives under United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to be integrated with this
• Air quality management at South-Asia regional level by activating the initiatives under ‘Male Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution
SECTORAL INTERVENTIONS
• Dust: Road dust and dust arising from construction and demolition (C&D):
o Mechanical sweeping and watering of roads
o Improved construction and maintenance of roads
o Growing plants, grass, etc., to prevent re-suspension of dust, using native grasses
o landscaping of the major arterial roads
o Construction & Demolition (C&D) Waste Management Rules, 2016, need local bodies to utilize 10%–20% material from C&D waste in municipal and government contracts
• POWER SECTOR EMISSIONS
o MoEF&CC notified ‘Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2015” for Thermal Power Plants (TPPs).
o The TPPs shall be gradually replaced with ones using natural gas and other cleaner fuels.
o GOI started the world’s largest renewable energy program, The National Solar Mission.
• INDUSTRIAL EMISSION
o Introduction of gaseous fuels and stringent SO2/NOx/PM2.5 standards for industries using solid fuels.
o Stricter enforcement of standards in large industries and continuous monitoring.
o Full enforcement of zig-zag brick technology in brick kilns.
o Control by innovative end of pipe control technologies.
o Elimination of DG set usage by provision of 24x7 electricity
o Evolve standards and norms for in-use DG sets
o Adopt third-party audits for polluting industries (States)
• TRANSPORT SECTOR EMISSION
o Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) norms
o Emphasis on cleaner fuel like CNG, LPG, etc., ethanol blending in petrol, promoting public transport, Pollution under Control (PUC) certificate, vehicle maintenance, etc.
o National Mission on Sustainable Habitat under NAPCC is to make sustainable habitat through urban planning with shift to convenient public transport.
o Vehicles are required to carry PUC certificate
o Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Program (MoRTH) proposes to offer tax benefits and discounts for junking old vehicles and replacing with new ones
o E-mobility:
Government fleet conversion to EVs and
augment charging stations esp. in 102 cities
R&D for indigenization of battery manufacturing and recycling.
• AGRICULTURAL EMISSION
o GOI had finalized National Policy for Management of Crop Residues (NPMCR) – 2014. It envisages interventions like Prali-Char, biochar, pellets, briquettes, bioCNG, bioethanol as alternate fuel for brick kilns, industries, TPPs, transport etc.
o Spreading steps for control of crop residue burning from the NCR to other part of the country and from paddy to sugarcane and other crops
o R&D for management of agricultural emissions from fertilizers and livestock waste
• EMISSIONS FROM UNSUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
o Shortage of landfill capacity has pushed for waste to energy incinerators but burning waste in inefficient incinerators only worsens the already-polluted air.
Decentralize waste management esp in 102 non-attainment cities
Source segregation into dry and wet waste to be made mandatory through involvement of municipalities and the RWA
Deployment of fixed compactor and doing away with dhalaos
Decentralized compositing plant, biomethanation plant and C&D waste plants.
R&D in technologies for converting waste/plastic, MSW to energy
Stringent implementation and monitoring for extended producer responsibility for e-waste and plastic waste
o Dumpsites emit methane, greenhouse gas, causing fire outbreaks, landfill slides
Landfill gas (appx. 50% methane and 50% CO2) can be used for energy
o Open waste burning contribute 20%– 30% of the total air pollution in cities like Delhi
o Strict implementation of existing six waste management’s rules on solid, Hazardous, Electronic, Bio-medical, Plastics and C&D waste
The Swachh Bharat Mission and National Mission on Sustainable Habitat serve as platforms to advance these objectives.
o Planning energy efficiency in buildings
o Recycling of material and Urban Waste Management
o The Smart City Mission is a government (Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) program to develop 100 citizen-friendly, sustainable cities in India.
• INDOOR AIR POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Indoor air pollution can begin within the building or be drawn in from outdoors.
o Indoor air pollutants include combustion products from stoves, kerosene heaters, and fireplaces as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from household products (e.g., paints, cleaning agents, and pesticides). Formaldehyde off-gassing from building products (e.g. particleboard and plywood), and from dry-cleaned textiles can accumulate in indoor air.
o Bacteria, viruses, moulds, animal dander, dust mites, and pollen are biological contaminants that can cause health problems, especially if spread by central heating or cooling systems.
o Second-hand tobacco smoke is an indoor air pollutant in many homes
o Naturally occurring radon, radioactive gas, can seep from the ground into buildings and accumulate to harmful levels.
o NO2, CO, lead etc. affect the air quality in an enclosed space
Health risks related to indoor air pollution have become a concern because people generally spend more time indoors e.g. Home, institution, commercial facility
Action Points
1. Building specific guidelines on monitoring and management of indoor air pollution.
2. Extend PMUY in 102 cities/towns and the associated village areas.
3. Guidelines for building designs that ensure proper ventilation, clean cooking, and living areas to maintain healthy indoor air quality. This is also to be integrated with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
• CITY SPECIFIC AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR 102 NON-ATTAINMENT CITIES
o Conducting Source apportionment studies esp in the 102 non-attainment cities followed by City-specific action plans to be taken up by State and city administration.
o Institutes like the IITs, NEERI, TERI, ARAI can be involved for this
o City-based clean air action plans whould be dynamic and adapt to evolving scientific evidence.
• STATE ACTION PLAN FOR AIR POLLUTION: as for city specific plans
• ACTIONS FOR KNOWLEDGE & DATABASE AUGMENTATION
An air quality monitoring network is a crucial component of the NCAP.
o Manual monitoring stations: proposed to augment to 1500 from existing 703 stations.
o CAAQMS:Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) for real time monitoring of air pollutants- no. would be increased.
No. in each city to be decided on basis of population, industrial activities etc.
o Satellite based monitoring would be used for ambient particulate matter levels
o Identification of alternative technology for real time monitoring: in consultation with the IIT, CSIR, and other such institutes as NEERI.
o Rural Monitoring Network: Air quality in rural areas has been a neglected issue till now.
Rural areas suffer from both outdoor and indoor air pollution.
Major sources are
1. Indiscriminate use of insecticides/pesticides and
2. Burning of wheat and paddy straw.
Atmospheric ozone concentration in rural areas has been observed to be higher than that seen urban areas.
It is proposed to set up 75 monitoring stations in rural areas.
o Setting up of 10 city Super Network: for capturing the overall air quality dynamics of the nation, impact of interventions, and trends
Super sites would be representative sites in cities and rural areas
These sites are to be selected to assess the background level and major sources
• AIR POLLUTION HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDIES
o The MoEF&CC, ICMR and MoHFW have constituted a Working Group to ascertain thrust areas in environment health.
o Air pollution effects can be both direct and indirect.
E.g. air pollution primarily causes respiratory and other health hazards in people directly exposed to various harmful gases.
The secondary and in long-term, the productivity of workers would be adversely affected due to these health problems
Therefore, air pollution exerts an indirect effect on the overall economy.
o MoHFW to take up environmental health for ensuring regular health profile or database
o Studies on health and economic impact of air pollution to be supported.
o Plan for monthly analysis of data w.r.t health to be created.
Data from industry mapping; daily AQI, PM2.5 and PM10 measurements; metrological parameters; deaths due to heart attacks, strokes, respiratory arrest, existing respiratory ailments, trends in lung cancer to be fed in to a central computer, analyzed and interpreted every month
o Awareness workshops to be undertaken focusing on a target audience
o Media is to be used for wide dissemination of precise information
• INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION and SHARING BEST PRACTICES ON AIR POLLUTION
o Cooperation may include joint research and technology development, field studies, pilot-scale plants and field demonstration projects
o Involvement of academia, research institutions and industry from both sides
• REVIEW OF AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS AND EMISSION STANDARDS
o The standards would need to be reviewed periodically and new standards need to be formulated for sources for which standards are not available
o CPCB to recommend the periodicity of review of these standards.
• NATIONAL EMISSION INVENTORY
o Comprehensive National Emission Inventory is still lacking in the country and will be formalized under the NCAP.
• ACTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
o PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION
o City-specific awareness program targeting key stakeholders to be formulated; e.g. awareness in general public for prevention of adverse effects of air pollution.
o Sensitization of the media for
Correct interpretation of international reports and
Disseminating information on measures being taken by the government
• TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING - Intensive training of all stakeholders
• SETTING UP AIR INFORMATION CENTRE
o Air information centres at the central and regional levels will be set up
• CERTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR MONITORING INSTRUMENTS
o To operationalize the NPL-India Certification Scheme (NPL-ICS) at the central and regional levels for online monitoring of air pollution.
o To create certification agencies for equipment needed for mitigation and monitoring
• AIR QUALITY FORECASTING SYSTEM
o An Air Quality Forecasting System (AAQFS) is envisaged as a state-of-the-art modelling system for forecasting the next day’s air quality.
The apex body is Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), which runs the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
o All the ongoing and future initiatives under SAFAR will be integrated with the NCAP
o These initiatives will be to extended to 102 non-attainment cities under NCAP.
o Hotspot-based forecasting to be taken up before city-specific forecasting in 102 cities.
o The satellite data available through ISRO to be integrated for monitoring and forecasting
• NETWORK OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS-KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS
o A network of qualified and experienced academicians, and technical institutions in the field of air pollution will be created in Major universities as University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Banaras Hindu University, the IITs, IIMs etc.
• INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Centre level
1. National Apex Committee at the MoEF&CC
2. Five sectoral working groups on a co-chairing basis
3. Technical Expert Committee at the MoEF&CC
4. National-level Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) at the MoEF&CC
5. National-level Project Implementation Unit (PIU) at the CPCB
State level
1. State-level Apex Committee under the chief secretaries in various states
2. City-level Review Committee under the municipal commissioner
3. DM-level Committee in the districts
4. State-level Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) at the SPCBs
Air quality progress in NCAP cities:
Out of 130 cities, 28 still do not have continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS).
• Among the 102 cities without monitoring stations, only 97 gather satisfactory data
• Among these NCAP cities, 29 recorded an increase in PM10 concentrations.
• Only 41 cities achieved the initial NCAP target of a 20-30% reduction in PM10 levels.
• Cities reporting a reduction still had PM10 concentrations exceeding the Standards (NAAQS).
Air quality across India
PM10 concentration:
• Out of 253 cities with reliable PM10 data, 206 exceeded the NAAQS & 47 cities met the standard.
• Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, was the most polluted city in India, followed by Greater Noida and Delhi
• Out of the 76 cities in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) with CAAQMS, 74 exceed the NAAQS.
• In the National Capital Region (NCR), all 28 cities exceed the NAAQS.
• Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Uttarakhand states: all the monitored cities exceeded PM10 standards
PM2.5 concentration:
• Out of 256 cities with reliable PM2.5 data, 150 cities exceeded the NAAQS, while 106 cities met the standard.
• Byrnihat (Assam), Delhi, and Gurgaon (Haryana) ranked as the top three most polluted cities in India
• Out of 78 cities in the IGP, 64 exceed the NAAQS, while 14 comply with the standard.
• In the NCR, 27 out of 29 cities exceed the NAAQS, with only 2 meeting the standard.
State level analysis:
• Punjab: All 8 monitored cities in Punjab exceeded PM2.5 NAAQS. Haryana (22/24 monitored cities), Rajasthan (26/36), UP (13/20), MP (8/14), West Bengal (5/7), and Assam (4/6) exceeded PM2.5 NAAQS
Monitoring network:
• India had 1,524 air quality monitoring stations (558 CAAQMS and 966 manual stations)
• Covering 550 cities across 28 states and 7 UTs
• An increase of 62 stations compared to 2023.
• However, the NCAP target of 1,500 manual stations by 2024 remains unmet
• Despite the increase in CAAQMS, data quality remains a concern due to poor maintenance and non-compliance with CPCB siting guidelines
Source apportionment:
• Among Non-Attainment cities, only 6 completed source apportionment studies in 2024 bringing the total to 50 out of 130 cities
• Among these, only 17 published detailed reports, while others have not uploaded their results.
Awareness and capacity building:
• Between 2019 and 2024, 1,400 public awareness programs were conducted
• Media sensitization and consistent outreach faced challenges.
• On capacity building, only 62 programs were implemented during this period
• In the current financial year, the pace of such efforts has further slowed,
Air information centre:
• No progress was observed in 2024
• The only centralized air information system is the CPCB's PRANA portal.
Certification scheme:
The National Physics Laboratory - India Certification Scheme emphasizes cost-effective testing and certification for air pollution monitoring systems.
• Even after six years of NCAP, certified laboratories are established in only 43 out of 130 cities.
Forecasting Systems:
• Despite plans for city-level and hotspot-based forecasting systems, no progress has been made in 2024
• Currently, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) provides forecasts for only four cities viz., Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad.
Reference:
1) NCAP, NATIONAL CLEAN AIR PROGRAMME. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Government of India, 2019 available at: https://mpcb.gov.in/sites/default/files/air-quality/National_Clean_Air_P... accessed on 28th October 2024.
2) Progress Report on National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Tracing the Hazy Air 2025. Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA); Helsinki. Available at: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/tracing-the-hazy-air-2025-prog... accessed on 18th February 2025
Indoor Air Pollution: https://ihatepsm.com/blog/indoor-air-pollution-silent-thief-your-living-...
National Clean Air Program (NACP): https://ihatepsm.com/blog/national-clean-air-program-ncap-2019-2025