Why in News?
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) conferred the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards on September 7, 2026, marking Swachh Vayu Diwas and the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.
Key Points
- A performance-linked grant of ₹16,425 crore was provided to 130 NCAP cities across 24 States/UTs for air-pollution control.
- 108 of 130 cities improved PM10 levels over the 2017–18 baseline; 26 cities achieved reductions above 40%, while 14 met NAAQS.
- The Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan ranks cities in three population groups using indicators such as road dust, solid waste, vehicular emissions and C&D waste management.
Exam Connect
- NCAP → targets non-attainment cities → originally aimed to reduce particulate matter by 20–30% from the 2017 baseline
- PRANA → Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment cities → monitors NCAP implementation