The NCAP has released its latest performance data for the fiscal year 2025‑26. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) answered a Rajya Sabha question, detailing how industries are shifting to cleaner fuels and how air‑quality indicators have improved in many cities.
Key Developments (2025‑26)
- City‑specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared for 130 cities under NCAP, targeting sources such as road dust, vehicular emissions, waste burning, and construction activities.
- State Action Plans promote the use of approved fuels, clean technologies, and city‑wide gas distribution networks to replace conventional fuels with gaseous fuels in industries and commercial units.
- Monitoring and enforcement are carried out by the CPCB and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) through the consent mechanism of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
- Urban Local Bodies report that 11,108 industries in NCAP cities have switched to cleaner fuels such as natural gas, PNG/LNG, LPG, and biogas.
- Financial support of ₹ 16,423.55 crore has been allocated for the period FY 2019‑20 to FY 2025‑26 via the XVth Finance Commission and the MPCCF for 48 million‑plus cities, and the Central Sector Scheme ‘Control of Pollution’ for 82 non‑attainment cities.
- Implementation monitoring is done by District/City level committees chaired by District Collectors or Municipal Commissioners, and by State‑level Steering Committees headed by the Chief Secretary.
Important Facts and Statistics
- Cities have utilized ₹ 11,575.54 crore (70.5%) of the allocated funds, as reported on the PRANA portal.
- In FY 2025‑26, 108 cities reduced annual PM10 levels compared with 2017‑18; 72 cities achieved >20% reduction and 26 cities >40% reduction.
- Fourteen cities met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in FY 2025‑26, up from six cities in 2017‑18.
- During calendar year 2025, 73 cities lowered annual PM2.5 concentrations compared with 2024, with 17 cities achieving >20% reduction.
Exam Relevance
Understanding NCAP is essential for GS‑3 (Environment & Climate Change) as it illustrates how the central government integrates policy, finance, and monitoring to tackle air pollution—a major public‑health and developmental challenge. The role of the consent mechanism highlights the regulatory framework governing industrial emissions, a frequent topic in environmental governance questions.
Financial allocations via the XVth Finance Commission and MPCCF connect to GS‑3 (Governance & Finance) and demonstrate inter‑governmental fiscal transfers for environmental projects.
Way Forward
- Strengthen real‑time monitoring of industrial emissions using continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS).
- Accelerate the rollout of city‑wide gas distribution networks to enable broader fuel switching.
- Enhance capacity of SPCBs for stricter enforcement of consent conditions.
- Promote public‑awareness campaigns on the health impacts of PM10 and PM2.5.
- Ensure full utilization of the allocated funds before FY 2025‑26 ends.
Continued focus on these actions will help India meet its air‑quality targets and improve public health outcomes.