{"id":77694,"date":"2025-12-13T11:59:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=77694"},"modified":"2025-12-13T11:59:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:29:57","slug":"delhi-air-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/delhi-air-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliamentary Panel\u2019s Key Recommendations on Delhi\u2019s Air Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Air Pollution Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent Delhi-NCR air pollution report tabled in Parliament has highlighted the urgent need to curb vehicular emissions, recommending a comprehensive review of India\u2019s emission standards.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Parliamentary Panel Calls for Stronger Standards and Systemic Reforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Air pollution in Delhi-NCR continues to be one of India\u2019s most complex environmental challenges, driven by vehicular emissions, industrial activities, stubble burning, and unfavourable meteorological conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change has made several policy recommendations aimed at strengthening India\u2019s regulatory and technological response to deteriorating air quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These recommendations are designed to guide government action, address existing gaps, and protect vulnerable populations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Need to Strengthen Vehicular Emission Standards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vehicular emissions remain a major contributor to Delhi-NCR\u2019s particulate matter and ozone levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The panel has emphasised that <\/span><b>a comprehensive review of India\u2019s vehicular emission standards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is necessary to align with evolving scientific knowledge and global best practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While acknowledging the government\u2019s push for ethanol blending to enhance energy security, the panel cautioned against unintended environmental impacts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increased <\/span><b>nitrogen oxide<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (NOx) emissions from ethanol-blended fuels and the problem of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">evaporative emissions<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, fuel vapours escaping from vehicles and generating ground-level ozone, require closer scrutiny.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To mitigate this, the panel recommended adopting more stringent evaporative emission standards, which would require automobile manufacturers to incorporate better emission control systems.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is crucial for India\u2019s transition to cleaner fuels and sustainable mobility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Encouraging Adoption of Electric Vehicles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report highlights that while India aims to increase the adoption of EVs, several bottlenecks continue to hinder progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To accelerate EV uptake, the committee suggested a combination of <\/span><b>incentives and disincentives<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cheaper or free public parking for EVs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Higher parking rates for petrol and diesel vehicles<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offering tax incentives on EV loans<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering an annual ceiling on the registration of non-electric vehicles in Delhi-NCR<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These measures aim to shift consumer behaviour while simultaneously easing the region\u2019s pollution burden.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Air Purifiers in Schools, Hospitals, and Government Offices<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children and patients are among the most vulnerable to toxic air. The committee therefore recommended <\/span><b>mandatory installation of air purifiers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All public schools in Delhi-NCR<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All public hospitals, especially the critical wards<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All government offices<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also pointed out that levying <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/goods-and-services-tax\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GST<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on air purifiers, devices essential for mitigating public health risks, effectively \u201cmonetises a public health failure.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The panel suggested <\/span><b>abolishing or reducing GST<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on air purifiers and HEPA filters to increase accessibility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Upgrading National Ambient Air Quality Standards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The panel called for the Centre to expedite the <\/span><b>revision of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These standards, last updated in 2009, need to reflect new scientific research, health data, and WHO benchmarks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee also recommended installing <\/span><b>pollution-cutting devices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in all thermal power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi-NCR.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This would ensure a significant reduction in SO\u2082, NOx, and particulate emissions from one of the region\u2019s largest polluting sources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delhi\u2019s PM2.5 levels, the report noted, must fall by <\/span><b>62%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to meet India\u2019s air quality norms and by <\/span><b>95%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to meet WHO standards, indicating the magnitude of intervention required.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Monitoring Stubble Burning More Effectively<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/stubble-burning-in-punjab\/\" target=\"_blank\">Stubble burning<\/a> remains a recurrent seasonal crisis in North India. The panel expressed concern that some farmers are finding ways to evade satellite detection of crop fires.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To strengthen enforcement, the committee recommended:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launch of a high-resolution ISRO satellite dedicated to monitoring farm fires 24\u00d77<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Integration of satellite data with digital farm records for real-time tracking<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This would help the government respond more effectively while also supporting early warning systems and targeted assistance programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Holistic Approach to Air Quality Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report stresses that no single policy can solve the region\u2019s pollution crisis. Instead, a coordinated approach, combining emissions control, technological investment, regulatory reform, and behavioural incentives, is essential.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By addressing systemic issues in transportation, energy production, agriculture, and urban infrastructure, the recommendations aim to align Delhi-NCR\u2019s air quality management with global best practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/delhi\/caqm-sets-up-panel-to-study-how-to-curb-vehicular-emission-in-delhi-report-in-2-months-10417884\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delhi-NCR air pollution report outlines measures to upgrade India\u2019s emission standards and improve air quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":77719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3753,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-77694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-air-pollution","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}