To bolster measurement of air pollution in rural India, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, is embarking on a $2.5 million project (19 crore) to install nearly 1,400 sensors in rural blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The three-year pilot project is expected to pave the way for a national network of air quality sensors in rural India.
Air pollution in India is largely framed as an urban blight though causes of pollution, such as biomass burning, and reliance on diesel gensets for electricity are worsening air quality in villages too.
In 2019, the government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to achieve 20-30% reduction in particulate matter (PM) air pollution by 2024 with 2017 as the base year for comparison. This however is primarily aimed at 122 cities that have been categorised as Indias most polluted cities.
Under NCAP, 375.44 crore was provided to 114 cities from 2018-19 to 2020-21 and 290 crore was allocated to 82 cities for the financial year 2021-2022. The programme has an allocation of 700 crore envisaged for 2021-26. However interim analysis by independent bodies have found that theres been minimal reduction so far in PM trends under NCAP and that pollution-reduction targets remain elusive.