National Clean Air Programme: Objectives, Targets and Strategies

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in January 2019 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as India’s first time-bound national strategy to combat air pollution. Designed as a long-term framework, NCAP seeks to reduce air pollution levels through a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach involving central ministries, state governments, urban local bodies (ULBs), and technical institutions. The programme focuses on targeted interventions across non-attainment cities—urban centers that consistently failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) over a five-year period—by augmenting air quality monitoring, preparing city-specific action plans, and mitigating emissions from vehicular, industrial, construction, and biomass sources.

Key Objectives and Target Framework

Primary Objectives

• Air Pollution Reduction: Reduce ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀) across target urban areas.
• Monitoring Network Expansion: Expand continuous and manual ambient air quality monitoring networks across urban and rural locations to build a reliable database.
• Public Information Dissemination: Ensure timely public access to air quality data and foster community participation in mitigation measures.
• Capacity Building: Strengthen technical capabilities of State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), Pollution Control Committees (PCCs), and local civic bodies.

Quantitative Targets and Timeline Revision

• Initial Targets (2019): Proposed a 20% to 30% reduction in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations by 2024, taking 2017 as the baseline comparison year.
• Revised Targets: Updated the goal to achieve up to a 40% reduction in particulate matter concentrations or meet the prescribed annual NAAQS limit (60,mug/m³ for PM₁₀) by 2025–26.

Coverage and Classification of Target Cities

Non-Attainment Cities (NACs)

• Identification Basis: Cities are classified as non-attainment if they fail to meet NAAQS levels for five consecutive years based on historical ambient air quality data.
• City Count: Initially identified 102 cities based on 2011–2015 air quality data, later expanded to cover 131 cities across 24 states and Union Territories.
• Million-Plus Cities Integration: Integrates 42 Million-Plus Cities and Urban Agglomerations identified by the 15th Finance Commission (XV-FC) to receive performance-linked grants for air quality improvement.

Dual Funding Structure

National Clean Air Funding Mechanism │ ┌────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ Non-Million Plus Cities Million-Plus Cities (MoEFCC Direct Grants under NCAP) (15th Finance Commission Performance Grants)

Core Strategies and Implementation Pillars

City-Specific Clean Air Action Plans

• Source Apportionment Studies: Conducts location-specific emission inventories and source apportionment studies to identify primary pollution contributors.
• Vehicular Emission Controls: Promotes electric vehicle adoption, expands public transit infrastructure, retrofits older vehicles, and enforces strict PUC (Pollution Under Control) certification.
• Dust and Waste Management: Mandates mechanical road sweeping, water sprinkling, paving of unpaved roads, and setting up Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste processing plants.
• Industrial and Biomass Controls: Shifts industrial units to cleaner fuels (such as PNG and LPG), mandates zig-zag technology in brick kilns, and enforces bans on open biomass burning.

Air Quality Monitoring Expansion

• National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP): Expands the network of manual monitoring stations across the country.
• Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS): Increases real-time continuous monitoring stations in urban hubs for instant Air Quality Index (AQI) tracking.
• Rural Monitoring Network: Establishes dedicated rural air quality monitoring stations to track regional background pollution levels.

Digital Tracking and Community Outreach

• PRANA Portal: Deploys the PRANA (Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities) platform to track physical and financial progress of city action plans in real time.
• Swachh Vayu Survekshan: Conducts annual city rankings based on actions taken under clean air action plans, categorizing cities by population size to encourage competitive federalism.

Multi-Tier Governance Structure

Key Facts and Trivia for Exam Preparation

• Launch Month and Year: The National Clean Air Programme was launched in January 2019 by MoEFCC.
• Baseline Comparison Year: The original baseline year for evaluating particulate matter reduction targets is 2017.
• Revised Reduction Target: The updated target aims for up to a 40% reduction in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations by 2025–26.
• Number of Target Cities: Currently covers 131 non-attainment and million-plus cities across India.
• Central Implementation Agency: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) acts as the nodal technical agency for NCAP execution.
• Digital Monitoring Portal: PRANA (Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities) serves as the official monitoring portal.
• Annual Standard Limit: The prescribed NAAQS annual standard limit for PM₁₀ is 60,mug/m³ and for PM_2.5 is 40,mug/m³.
• Clean Air City Ranking: Swachh Vayu Survekshan ranks cities annually on air quality measures under the NCAP framework.
• International Observance: International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is observed globally every year on September 7.