Evaluating the National Clean Air Programme: Policy Gaps and the Need for Structural Reform

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019 as India’s primary policy instrument to combat pervasive air pollution, has come under intense scrutiny. During the eighth India Clean Air Summit, experts presented evidence suggesting that the program has largely failed to achieve its intended objectives of reducing particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations across non-attainment cities. At the heart of the criticism is the program's design, which has been described as lacking the necessary stringency and enforcement mechanisms to drive systemic change. While the NCAP aimed to provide a national framework for air quality management, the implementation has been hampered by fragmented coordination between central and state authorities, inadequate funding allocation, and a lack of accountability for local municipal bodies. Furthermore, the absence of a clear, legally binding timeline for the transition to an upgraded 'NCAP 2.0' leaves a policy vacuum, delaying the integration of more aggressive, science-based interventions required to tackle the complex sources of pollution, ranging from vehicular emissions to industrial and agricultural waste burning.