Air and mobility  |  April 13, 2025

World's Most Polluted Cities in India: Has NCAP Failed? | National Clean Air Programme

35 Indian cities have recently been listed among the 50 most polluted cities in the world. What's worse, 16 of these cities received nearly Rs 1,000 crore over the past eight years to tackle air pollution. This disturbing finding has placed India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) under intense scrutiny. NCAP is the costliest air pollution control programme ever taken up in India, and one of the biggest globally. But it appears to be non-existent in 19 of the Indian cities that are part of the ‘most polluted’ top 50 list.