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TREND | 03 Apr 2026

CM Rekha Gupta unveils Delhi's air pollution mitigation plan for 2026

Business Standard

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday unveiled the Air Pollution Mitigation Action Plan 2026, announcing a series of measures including strict enforcement of the "No PUC, No Fuel" rule, curbs on polluting vehicles and a push for cleaner transport and dust control. Announcing the rollout of the plan, Gupta said the initiative builds on the government's 'historic' Green Budget for 2026-27 and aims to translate clean air goals into measurable outcomes. The action plan, announced after a high-level review meeting held at the Mukhyamantri Janseva Sadan, is aimed at tackling key sources of pollution such as vehicular emissions, road dust, construction activity, industrial discharge and biomass burning, officials said. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said clean air and environmental protection were now central to the government's policy framework and would be backed by dedicated budgetary allocations and strict enforcement. "This is not just a policy announcement, it is an

CAQM holds off on Grap curbs despite Delhi AQI slipping to poor category

Business Standard | 03 Apr 2026 1 more

Environment

TREND | 23 Mar 2026

Delhi records lowest PM2.5, PM10 levels since 2015, excluding Covid year

Business Standard

Delhi recorded the lowest yearly average of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 in 2025, barring the Covid year i.e. 2020, according to the economic survey of 2025-26 tabled in the Delhi Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday. The report, which quotes Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) data, the yearly average of PM10 in 2025 was 209 (measured in micrograms per cubic metre) and that of PM2.5 was 100. This was the lowest since 2015, before which data is not available. In 2020, which was the year of the global Covid pandemic, PM10 yearly average had dropped to 187 but PM2.5 remained at 101, one unit higher than 2025. According to the DPCC data provided, the yearly average of PM10 and PM2.5 in 2024 were 225 and 110 respectively, in 2023 were 219 and 106. The PM10 and PM2.5 yearly average were 223 and 103 in 2022, and were 221 and 113 in 2021, respectively. The report quoted that the year-wise annual mean ambien

Environment

TREND | 19 Mar 2026

Pollution and kids' health: Doctors decode early signs you might miss

Business Standard

From a lingering cough to unusual fatigue, experts explain early warning signs of pollution-related health issues in children and when parents should seek help

Environment

TREND | 16 Mar 2026

Delhi air quality improves to moderate after 157 days, AQI at 119

Business Standard

Delhi breathed easier on Monday after 157 days, as the city's air quality improved to 119 in the 'moderate' category, while the city recorded a maximum temperature of 32.2 degrees Celsius. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 119, the lowest recorded since October 9, 2025, when the AQI had stood at 99 in the same category. At 9 am on Monday, the AQI stood at 97 in the 'satisfactory' category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The improvement came after the city experienced light rain on Sunday. According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'. The improvement in air quality came after many parts of Delhi and the surrounding region on Sunday received light rain, triggered by a western disturbance. The drizzle brought respite from the rising heat and helped disperse pollutants in the

Experts raise concerns over Centre's plan to fast-track environmental nods

Business Standard | 16 Mar 2026

Environment

TREND | 15 Mar 2026

Environment ministry backs 10-member panel set up to define Aravalli hills

Business Standard

The Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it has no objection with the Central Empowered Committee's proposed 10-member high-powered expert committee which has been tasked to come up with a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges. In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has endorsed the names suggested for the high-powered expert committee comprising in-service and retired bureaucrats associated with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Survey of India, along with academicians. "The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said. The committee is proposed to be headed by Kanchan Devi, the .

Environment

TREND | 13 Mar 2026

Govt amends forest conservation norms for projects over 100 hectares

Business Standard

The Environment Ministry has amended forest conservation norms by removing the mandatory requirement of having a nodal officer conduct a field inspection for every project involving more than 100 hectares of forest land diversion. With this move, it has now allowed conservator, chief conservator or regional chief conservator of forests to do such an examination. Earlier, for every proposal that involved more than 40 hectares of forest land, the conservator of forests of the forest circle in question had to carry out a field inspection -- in addition to the verification by the divisional forest officer (DFO) concerned. Similarly, for a project involving more than 100 hectares of forest land, apart from the DFO's verification, a field inspection had to be carried out by the nodal officer, who would be holding the rank of chief conservator of forests or above. The amendment to the sub-rule (12) in rule 9 of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, formerly known as the Forest

Environment

TREND | 12 Mar 2026

Delhi remains most polluted city in 2024-25, Patna second: Report

Business Standard

Delhi was the most polluted city during 2024-25, recording the highest annual PM2.5 levels and extended periods of "severe" air quality in winter while Patna was the second-most polluted city, according to a new analysis by Climate Trends. Climate Trends is a research-based consulting and capacity-building initiative that aims to bring greater focus on issues of environment, climate change and sustainable development. Based on Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) air quality monitoring data, this report analysed how meteorological conditions influence the persistence of PM2.5 pollution across six major Indian cities such as Delhi, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Using CPCB air quality data (2024-2025) combined with meteorological clustering, the study distinguished emission-driven pollution from weather-driven variability. "Delhi continues to face the most severe pollution crisis nationally with the highest annual average PM2.5 levels and the longest stretches of ..

Environment

TREND | 10 Mar 2026

Environment Ministry proposes separate authority to push green nod in states

Business Line

The two new bodies will function at the state level by evaluating development projects categorised as Category B and providing environmental clearance in a timely manner

Environment

TREND | 06 Mar 2026, 02:33PM

India, Finland renew MoU on environmental cooperation to boost cooperation

Business Standard

India and Finland have renewed their MoU on environmental cooperation to deepen collaboration on pollution prevention and control, waste management, climate change, forests and natural resource management, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said. The renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) comes during the four-day visit of Finnish President Alexander Stubb. "Happy to note that India has renewed the Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Cooperation signed in 2020, deepening cooperation on pollution prevention and control, waste management, climate change, forests and natural resource management through knowledge and technology cooperation," Prashan said in a post on X. According to officials, the renewed MoU will continue to provide a structured framework for collaboration and exchange of best practices between the two countries on, inter alia, prevention and control of air and water pollution (including remediation of contaminated soil); waste management...

Environment

TREND | 27 Feb 2026

Cheetah Gamini delivers fourth cub at Kuno; population rises to 39

Business Standard

South African cheetah Gamini has given birth to the fourth cub at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of these big cats in India to 39, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday. "Kunoh national park is pleased to announce the birth of the fourth cub to female cheetah Gamini. The presence of the fourth cub was confirmed during intensive monitoring by the field and veterinary teams. "All four cubs are presently healthy and doing fine. The number of cheetahs in India now stands at 39, including 28 India-born cubs," Yadav said in a post on X. Gamini was translocated to India from South Africa as part of the ambitious project launched in September 2022 to revive the population of the world's fastest land animal in India, which had gone extinct decades ago. Yadav had announced the birth of three cubs of Gamini earlier this month.