Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026 and Progress Under NCAP

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Key takeaways

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change celebrated Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026 on 7th September and presented the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards.
Under NCAP, 108 out of 130 non-attainment cities improved their PM10 levels, but only 26 cities met the target of a 40% reduction by 2026.
Lucknow secured the first rank among large cities with a population over 10 lakh by deploying electric vehicles and mechanized road sweeping.
The government allocated a Performance-Linked Grant of Rs 16,425 crore and monitors city-level clean air plans through the digital PRANA portal.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) organized Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026 on 7th September.
This event coincided with the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.
The government presented the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards to recognize top-performing cities and wards under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
Officials also released a Compendium of Best Management Practices under NCAP to help states replicate successful local air quality projects.

The UN General Assembly created the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies in 2019 to raise global awareness about air pollution.
India celebrates this annual observance as Swachh Vayu Diwas across the country.
The official theme for 2026 is Clean Air for Climate Action.

The government introduced the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan framework in 2022-23 to evaluate city-level air pollution measures.
The assessment judges cities on road dust management, solid waste processing, vehicular and industrial emissions, construction waste, and public awareness activities.
The evaluation covers all 130 NCAP cities, dividing them into three groups based on population.
Category 1 includes cities with a population above 10 lakh.
Category 2 covers cities with a population between 3 to 10 lakh.
Category 3 comprises cities with a population below 3 lakh.

In Category 1, Lucknow won the top rank for introducing electric vehicles in municipal fleets, mechanized road sweeping, and clearing old waste dumps.
Indore secured the second rank, while Jabalpur achieved the third position in Category 1.
Chennai, Jamshedpur, Kota, Kolkata, and Madurai ranked among the bottom five cities, while Delhi finished in 30th spot.
In Category 2, Rourkela in Odisha emerged as the top-performing city.
In Category 3, Kalinganagar in Odisha took the first spot.
The 2026 awards introduced ward-level rankings across three distinct population categories for the first time.
For Ward Category I with a population over 30,000, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Nashik won the top three spots.
For Ward Category II, Bhubaneswar ranked first, followed by Vijayawada and Prayagraj.
For Ward Category III with a population under 10,000, Rourkela and Nalgonda secured the top two positions.
Latest data from 2025-26 shows measurable progress across India compared to the 2017-18 baseline.
Out of 130 NCAP cities, 108 cities successfully reduced their overall PM10 pollution levels.
A total of 72 cities reduced particulate matter by over 20%, while 26 cities achieved reductions greater than 40%.
The released compendium offers State Pollution Control Boards a practical guide for managing road dust, waste, and industrial smoke.

The MoEFCC launched NCAP in 2019 as a long-term strategy to tackle air pollution across India.
The programme targets 130 Non-Attainment Cities that failed to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for five consecutive years, along with Million Plus Cities.
NCAP operates as a multi-sector initiative but lacks statutory backing, meaning it carries no legal penalties for cities that miss targets.
The scheme aligns with existing national programmes such as Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Smart Cities Mission, FAME-II, and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
The initial target aimed for a 20% to 30% reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 levels by 2024, using 2017 as the base year.
The government later revised this target to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate matter by 2026.
On a national scale, India has not fully met the 2026 goal, as only 26 out of 130 cities achieved the 40% reduction mark.

The government allocated a performance-linked grant of Rs 16,425 crore to fund local air quality projects.
The PRANA portal digitally tracks both physical work and budget spending for city air action plans.
All 130 cities must conduct Source Apportionment studies to identify specific local polluters and create emission profiles.
A three-tier structure manages NCAP, featuring an Apex Committee at the Ministry level, a Steering Committee at the Chief Secretary level, and a Monitoring Committee at the District Magistrate level.
By 2025-26, 108 cities improved their PM10 air quality compared to 2017-18 levels.
Over 72 cities recorded pollution drops exceeding 20%.
Exactly 26 cities achieved pollution cuts above 40%.
A total of 14 cities fully satisfied the national NAAQS air quality standards.