NEW DELHI, Jan. 11 -- The Indian government has launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), aiming to reduce toxic particulate matter in the atmosphere by 2024. The capital's - and much of northern India's - air has been a major source of concern and has been cited as a cause of a range of respiratory and other illnesses.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, formally launched the NCAP, which is a mid-term, five-year action plan that includes collaborative, multi-scale coordination across a variety of sectors between relevant central government ministries, state governments and local bodies.
Plagued by deteriorating air quality, particularly across northern India during the winter months, the go...