Measures to Control Air Pollution in Urban Centres of India: Policy and Institutional framework

Background and Objective

• Many Indian cities including New Delhi are included in the list of most polluted cities in the world (WHO 2014, Cheng et al. 2016). About 80 per cent of cities in India violate the prescribed standards of ambient air quality (CPCB 2014). Multiple sources contribute to the problem and, hence, sector-specific strategies are required for control of air quality.
• This policy brief aims to analyse the whole issue in terms of key drivers, such as rapid urbanization, transportation, industrialization, power generation, and agricultural activities, that subsequently lead to air pollution at different scales in India. These drivers lead to generation of pressures on the air quality through release of pollutants. The brief assesses the contribution of different sources of emission and pollutant concentrations at urban and national scales and the impact on human health and other important receptors and discusses the key measures required for improvement of air quality in urban centres of India.