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On the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, observed on 7 September, MoEFCC held Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026 and conferred the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan awards on the best-performing cities and, for the first time, wards.
Under the National Clean Air Programme, 108 of 130 cities recorded lower annual PM10 in FY 2025-26 than in 2017-18: 72 cut it by more than 20%, 26 by more than 40%, and 14 met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Lucknow topped Category 1, Rourkela Category 2 and Kalinganagar Category 3; ward-level assessment covered over 7,400 wards, with Ward 70 of Lucknow first in Category 1.
A Compendium of Best Management Practices under NCAP was released, and a first-of-its-kind dialogue brought mayors and local body representatives from 63 NCR cities to take a Clean Air Pledge.
Improve urban air quality in mission mode through source-specific, city-level action plans
Key: Launched 2019 in 130 cities; funded by performance-linked grants; the revised national target is up to a 40% cut in PM10 or meeting NAAQS by 2025-26 against the 2017-18 baseline, replacing the original 20-30% by 2024 goal
Annual ranking of the 130 NCAP cities to spur competition on air quality action
Key: An MoEFCC initiative launched in 2022-23; cities self-assess, State-level Monitoring Committees approve, CPCB evaluates and independent committees verify in the field; cities compete in three population groups
Track physical and financial implementation of city clean air action plans under NCAP
Key: Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment cities; publishes progress to the public
Assess ambient air quality trends and detect violations of standards
Key: Run by CPCB; originally the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring programme; combines manual stations with Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Systems
Time-bound fleet modernisation to cut vehicular pollution in the NCR
Key: Launched by MoHUA; incentivises replacing BS-IV and older trucks and buses with BS-VI, CNG or electric vehicles
Promote electric mobility as a pollution control measure
Key: PM E-DRIVE is run by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and PM E-Bus Sewa by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Improve forest quality, ecological resilience and carbon sequestration
Key: ₹1,019.26 crore released to states as of March 2026
Create urban forests to raise city green cover
Key: Launched 2020 with a target of 1,000 Nagar Vans and Vatikas by 2026-27; ₹557.62 crore released for 626 as of 31 March 2026
Restore degraded land along the Aravalli landscape
Key: Targets 6.31 million hectares across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi; 435 nurseries with capacity of 393.24 lakh seedlings; about 36,025 hectares restored during 2025
Mass public tree-planting campaign
Key: 262.4 crore saplings planted by December 2025
Fund compensatory afforestation and ecological restoration
Key: More than 3.20 lakh hectares of compensatory afforestation between FY 2020-21 and 2024-25
Statutory body established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and entrusted with powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; runs NAMP, the National AQI and the industrial category system, and provides technical services to MoEFCC
Dedicated statutory body for coordinated air quality management across the NCR airshed; coordinates GRAP, notifies approved industrial fuels and issues directions to Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
Specialised environmental tribunal; its chairperson presided over Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026
Frontline regulators enforcing the Water Act, Air Act and Environment (Protection) Act; also handle noise, hazardous and plastic waste, standards and compliance
Nodal ministry for NCAP, Swachh Vayu Survekshan and environmental standards
The primary air pollution statute; CPCB exercises its air quality powers under it, and uniform Control of Air Pollution consent guidelines were notified on 29 January 2025 following amendments to this Act
The Act that actually constituted CPCB — a favourite exam trap, since CPCB's best-known work is on air
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards in force were notified under it in 2009, covering 12 pollutants; industries without sector-specific standards follow the general standards under the Environment Protection Rules, 1986
Creates CAQM as a statutory airshed regulator, replacing the earlier ad hoc arrangements for the NCR
The rules the Environment Minister pressed NCR local bodies to implement; open waste burning and C&D dust are two of the largest urban PM sources
A single number that converts pollutant concentrations into one health-based reading on the 'One Number, One Colour, One Description' principle, launched in 2015. It uses eight pollutants — PM10, PM2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃ and Pb — and the worst-performing pollutant sets the overall value across six bands from Good (0-50) to Severe (401-500).
Simple Analogy: Like a class result decided by your weakest subject, not your average.
| AQI band | AQI range | GRAP linkage in the NCR |
|---|---|---|
| Good / Satisfactory | 0-50 / 51-100 | No GRAP measures |
| Moderate | 101-200 | No GRAP measures |
| Poor | 201-300 | GRAP Stage I is triggered |
| Very Poor | 301-400 | Progressively stricter GRAP stages |
| Severe | 401-500 | Stricter still; the top stage, Severe+, applies above AQI 450 |
GS Paper 3 > Environment > Environmental Pollution, Conservation and Regulatory Bodies
General Awareness > Environment and Static GK
General Awareness > Environment
In the cities of our country, which among the following atmospheric gases are normally considered in calculating the value of Air Quality Index? 1. Carbon dioxide 2. Carbon monoxide 3. Nitrogen dioxide 4. Sulfur dioxide 5. Methane Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 2, 3 and 4 only
How is the National Green Tribunal (NGT) different from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)? 1. The NGT has been established by an Act whereas the CPCB has been created by an executive order of the Government. 2. The NGT provides environmental justice and helps reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts whereas the CPCB promotes cleanliness of streams and wells, and aims to improve the quality of air in the country. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 2 only
A city that failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards over a five-year period; NCAP's city list is built from these, which is why its tracking portal is named PRANA — Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment cities.
A scientific exercise that attributes measured pollution to its sources; NCAP studies attribute 40-50% of PM10 in most Indian cities to road dust and construction.
Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System — devices installed at industrial sources that transmit emission data continuously to CPCB servers; mandatory for the 17 highly polluting industry categories.
Managing air quality across a whole meteorological region rather than by administrative boundary — the logic behind creating CAQM for the NCR and adjoining areas.