In India, air has become a public health disaster, challenging both governance and public resolve. A slow, unseen threat that deprives people of years before their time, air pollution caused 1.5 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019, as per the Lancet Planetary Health study. This accounts for nearly one in every six deaths nationwide. It is one of the country’s deadliest health threats, claiming more years of life lost than even cardiovascular or infectious diseases. Particulate pollution alone shortens the average Indian’s life by 5.3 years. In the Northern Plains, the worst-hit region, the number increases to about 8 years of life lost for nearly 521 million residents.
In 2019, the economic costs from premature deaths and illnesses linked to air pollution reached $36.8 billion, or 1.36% of India’s GDP 4 . This is a multi-faceted attack on health, society, and the economy, in the guise of an environmental issue. The problem looms over India like Damocles’ sword—a scepter that haunts our national productivity, stunts children’s growth, hampers adolescents’ lung and cognitive development and burdens hospitals.
CAQM as a Panacea
Faced with such a crisis, piecemeal interventions are no longer enough. India needs a science-backed authority with the mandate to cut across state lines and enforce tough decisions. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), set up in 2020 and given statutory powers under the CAQM Act, 2021, has emerged as that very institution. Its jurisdiction spans Delhi-NCR and neighbouring states, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, where it can issue binding directions to state agencies, impose environmental compensation, and prosecute non-compliance.
CAQM’s strategy has zeroed in on two critical fronts in the fight against air pollution: managing agricultural residue to curb stubble burning and driving industrial decarbonisation to cut emissions at the source.
In agriculture, CAQM has created Parali Protection Forces for district-level oversight, satellite-based burnt area tracking with ISRO, and the legal empowerment of District Magistrates to prosecute violations. Together, these measures have driven a dramatic decline in crop residue fires. Punjab saw incidents fall from 71,304 in 2021 to 10,909 in 2024, while Haryana dropped from 6,829 to 1,315 . To create a sustainable outlet for farm waste, the Commission has also advanced biomass co-firing in coal-based power plants, blending paddy straw with coal to reduce coal consumption and avoid open burning. This began in 2021, when 11 thermal plants within 300 km of Delhi were directed to co-fire 5–10% biomass.
In June 2025, the mandate expanded to brick kilns in non-NCR districts of Punjab and Haryana, with a phased plan to achieve 50% paddy straw-based biomass use by November 2028.
In 2023, CAQM strengthened industrial decarbonisation by mandating strict and immediate compliance with emission limits for particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and water use in coal- and lignite-based thermal power plants, in line with standards set and periodically updated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This regulatory push has strengthened compliance across the industrial and power sectors. CAQM has also boosted biomass pellet production, including the once-scarce torrefied type, through access to technology, training, and subsidies provided by the Central Pollution Control Board and state governments.
Building on these industrial measures, CAQM has pursued a multi-pronged strategy that combines regulatory reform, technology, and public engagement to clean Delhi-NCR’s air. Stricter dust control at construction sites, GRAP curbs on end-of-life vehicles and non-destined trucks during high-pollution days, and round-the-clock industrial emissions monitoring have sharpened enforcement. The results are showing, and the air quality readings as well as the on-ground practices are finally beginning to tell a different story. By mid-2025, all 11 thermal power plants in NCR and 71 nationwide had adopted biomass co-firing , and nearly 1,650 industrial units in Delhi had transitioned to cleaner fuels, following directives from the CAQM. This has yielded CO₂ savings of 25.79 lakh metric tonnes from NCR thermal plants and 34.77 lakh metric tonnes from thermal plants nationwide. The average AQI between January and September 2023 stood at 167, the second-best in six years. July 2025 recorded an AQI of 79, the cleanest in a decade. PM 10 levels have also fallen by 15% since 2017–18.
Miles To Go Before I Sleep
Building on these gains, the next step to improving air quality is to scale up efforts and build on the momentum that CAQM has created. With a strong foundation in place, the next step is to complement it with, advanced combustion technologies, carbon capture and storage, waste energy recovery, and renewable energy integration for thermal power plants. While retrofitting demands investment, the payoff in emissions reduction makes it a worthwhile strategy. Continuous emitters such as large power plants and industrial clusters can further benefit from long-term decarbonization roadmaps backed by regulatory certainty.
Equally vital is the development of strong biomass supply chains for all types of agricultural residues, ensuring that no waste is burned. The sugarcane industry’s model of industrial symbiosis, where by-products power other value chains, provides a practical example. Broader clean-air efforts, ranging from reducing landfill emissions to encouraging low-carbon building materials through active reuse of construction debris, can help reinforce these gains, cutting emissions at their source while also promoting a circular economy that turns waste into valuable resources.To make sure innovation leads to lasting results, CAQM should consider commissioning baseline and interim impact assessments, monitoring the air quality benefits of its actions in real time.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The future depends on what you do today.” CAQM has demonstrated that determined and coordinated efforts can reverse one of India’s most serious public health crises. Change is already underway, but the journey is far from finished. By embracing continuous improvement, we can secure these gains. The air can be made even cleaner if tomorrow’s follow-through matches today’s determination.
