In 2019, the National Clean Air Programme aimed to reduce particulate pollution—PM2.5 and PM10—by 20-30 per cent by 2024, later raised to 40 per cent by 2026. However, most cities lag behind the 2024 goal despite spending thousands ofcrores, with only eight meeting the target, 22 worsening, and many not even recording continuous data. With high standards on paper but poor implementation in reality, an epic battle against air pollution looms ahead.
