The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in January 2019 with the objective of improving air quality in 130 non-attainment and million plus cities/urban agglomerations across 24 states/union territories, by engaging all relevant stakeholders. NCAP aims for a reduction of 20-30% in PM10 concentrations by 2024-25 compared to the baseline year of 2017-18. The target has been revised to achieve up to a 40% reduction in PM10 levels or to meet PM10 NAAQS (60 μg/m³) by 2025-26. City-specific targets ranging from 4-15% have been given for reduction in annual PM10 concentrations by implementing city-specific action plans.
Air quality progress in NCAP cities:
- Out of 130 cities, 28 NCAP cities still do not have continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS). Among the 102 cities that do have monitoring stations, 100 cities reported 80% or more PM10 data coverage.
- Of these 100 NCAP cities, 23 recorded an increase in PM10 concentrations. Only 51 cities achieved the initial NCAP target of a 20-30% reduction in PM10 levels and 23 cities achieved the revised NCAP target of 40% reduction in PM10.
- 77 cities reported a reduction in PM10 concentrations, yet 68 of those cities still had PM10 concentrations exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
Air quality across India
- PM10 concentration:
- In 2025, out of 229 cities in India with 80% or more PM10 data, 190 cities exceeded the NAAQS for PM10, while 39 cities met the standard.
- Delhi, the national capital, is the most polluted city with an annual average PM10 concentration of 197 µg/m³, followed by Ghaziabad (190 µg/m³) and Greater Noida (188 µg/m³).
- Out of the 89 cities in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) with CAAQMS, only 61 cities have the PM10 data more than 80% and among that 60 exceed the NAAQS. Similarly, in the National Capital Region (NCR), all 14 cities with data (>80%) exceed the NAAQS.
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Telangana states had all the monitored cities exceeding PM10 NAAQS.
- PM2.5 concentration:
- Out of 231 cities with 80% or more PM2.5 data, 103 cities exceeded the NAAQS for PM2.5, while 128 cities met the standard.
- Byrnihat (Assam), Delhi, and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) ranked as the top three most polluted cities in India, with annual PM2.5 concentrations of 100 µg/m³, 96 µg/m³, and 93 µg/m³, respectively.
- Out of 61 cities observed with data for more than 80% days in the IGP, 47 exceed the NAAQS, while 14 comply with the standard. In the NCR, 12 out of 14 cities (with data >80% days) exceed the NAAQS, with only 2 meeting the standard.
- State level analysis showed that the exceedance was high in Bihar (20 cities exceed NAAQS out of 24 monitored cities), Rajasthan (17 out of 34), Uttar Pradesh (13 out of 20), Odisha (11 out of 15), Punjab (6 out of 7), West Bengal (6 out of 7), Assam (4 out of 6), and Gujarat (4 out of 6).
Monitoring network:
- In 2025, India had 1,600 air quality monitoring stations, including 565 CAAQMS and 1035 manual stations, covering 584 cities across 28 states and 7 union territories. This marks an increase of 69 manual stations and 7 CAAQMS compared to 2024.
- However, the NCAP target of 1,500 manual stations by 2024 remains unmet, with a shortfall of 465 stations even in 2025.
- Despite the increased installation of CAAQMS, data quality remains a concern due to poor maintenance and non-compliance with CPCB siting guidelines.
Source apportionment:
- Only 90 out of 130 cities have completed source apportionment studies so far, indicating that even by the end of the extended NCAP period, around 40 cities still do not know the sources of their pollution.
Funding:
- Despite ₹13,415 crore being released under NCAP and XV-FC funds since inception, only ₹9,929 crore has been utilised, indicating a utilisation rate of just 74%.
- NCAP spending remains highly skewed, with 68% allocated to road dust management, followed by transport (14%) and waste management and biomass burning (12%), while industry, domestic fuel use, and public outreach each received less than 1% and capacity building and monitoring only 3%.
Recommendations
- Prioritise PM2.5 and its precursor gases over PM10
- Revise the list of non-attainment cities under NCAP
- Enforce emission load reductions through stricter, time-bound emission standards
- Allocate funding based on source apportionment studies
- Adopt an airshed approach for regional clusters
