Hope on air quality: How air quality in north India can be transformed within 5 years

Air pollution in Delhi has been rightly described as a health emergency. In the Union budget, the finance minister enhanced the outlay for reducing air pollution to Rs 4,400 crore, almost a tenfold increase, and states should follow this lead. The National Clean Air Program, started over a year back, has the goal of improving air quality by 25-30%. Since the causes of, and mitigation measures for air pollution are better understood now, it is time to raise the nation’s ambition to getting fully clean air by 2025. Getting clean air needs smart interventions. Subsidies can be avoided where policies and regulations would work. However, if subsidies are the only way forward, these should be provided fully.