India’s Air Pollution Strategy needs Atma Nirbharta

Air Quality Monitoring:

• 1984: National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAAQMP).
• 2010: India developed its first indigenous air quality forecasting system – SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), despite foreign resistance.

• Delhi’s CNG transition: A landmark policy decision for cleaner urban transport.
• EV transition: Some Indian states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) are now taking commendable steps towards rapid EV transition.

Air Pollution: Global rankings and foreign influence:

Indian cities frequently rank among the world’s most polluted, according to various studies. It raises the issues of data dependence, climate justice, and unequal climate sanctions on developing nations.

Underutilisation of domestic resources:

• Pollution Control Boards often return unspent funds.
• Disproportionate allocation of resources to elite institutions and foreign-aligned collaborations.

Central Pollution Control Board

It is a statutory organisation constituted in September 1974, under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.  Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Functions of the CPCB:

• To promote the cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution. To improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.
• It advises the Central Government on matters related to the control and abatement of air and water pollution. It also coordinates the affairs of other State Pollution Control Boards, assists them, furnishes guidance, and helps in conflict resolution in case of any disagreement among them. 

CPCB has delegated its powers and functions under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, and the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, to the respective regional administration concerning Union Territories.;

• Water Quality Criteria from different sources
• Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from various Industries (Issued under Environment Protection Rules, 1986)
• Standards for Treatment and Disposal of Bio-Medical Waste by Incineration
• Emission standard, Noise limits for Diesel Engines
• Emission and Noise Limit of LPG and CNG Generator Sets
• CPCB also formulates the Minimal National Standards (MINAS) specific for various categories of industries concerning their effluent discharge (water pollutants), emissions (air pollutants), noise levels, and solid waste.
• These standards are required to be adopted by State Governments as minimal standards.

Domestic Research and Institutional Gaps:

• Innovation and missed opportunities: Positive steps: Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), which signals the government’s commitment to strengthening research and innovation with industrial contribution.
• However, the question is: Why are developed countries, with no direct stake in India’s air quality, so keen on studying it? Why are Indian institutes not leading such research?

Dependence on foreign data:

• The shutdown of climate research in the US under the Trump administration highlighted the risks of relying on foreign datasets.
• India’s need: Indigenous polar-orbiting satellites for global data to support local modelling.

Framework

• Institutional collaboration and scientific strategy: For example, India’s world-class agencies like the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) could collaborate with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for setting a global benchmark in air quality management and forecasting.
• NARFI – Encouraging collaborative governance: A new model under study – The National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI) must be designed to act as a catalyst for Inter-organisational collaboration, inter-disciplinary research.

Evidence-based decision-making.

• Promoting airshed-level pollution management: Airshed management enables region-specific pollution control by considering cross-boundary air flow patterns, enhancing the effectiveness of policy interventions.
• According to the National Institute of Advanced Studies, rethinking air quality strategies by scientifically integrating broader airshed factors (rather than adopting city-centric approaches) is the need of the hour. 
• Health-centric and food security approach: Future air quality strategies must align with net-zero goals, public health, and agricultural resilience.

Conclusion

• True self-reliance requires leveraging India’s scientific talent, decentralising research and funding, developing indigenous data infrastructure, and creating a unified, science-based knowledge hub.
• India’s air quality mission must reflect the same ambition as Make in India, with climate resilience, public health, and national innovation at its core.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. About India’s air pollution management and strategy, consider the following statements:

1. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has no role in framing emission standards for specific industrial categories; this is solely done by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Moefcc).
2. India’s SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) was developed indigenously despite international resistance.
3. The National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI) promotes a city-centric, rather than region-specific, approach to pollution control.
4. The dependence on foreign datasets for air quality monitoring has raised concerns about data sovereignty and scientific self-reliance.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 2 and 4 only
B. 1 and 3 only
C. 1, 2 and 4 only
D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Answer: A. 2 and 4 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect:
  • CPCB does frame emission standards, including Minimal National Standards (MINAS), under the Environment Protection Act and other related legislation.
• Statement 2 is correct:
  • SAFAR was developed indigenously in 2010 despite foreign resistance.
• Statement 3 is incorrect:
  • NARFI supports airshed-level and inter-disciplinary pollution management, moving away from city-centric strategies.
• Statement 4 is correct:
  • The article explicitly mentions risks arising from dependence on foreign datasets, especially highlighted by the shutdown of U.S. climate research under Trump.