Title: Right to clean air: an exigent concern - a comparative research on the USA and China along with a pragmatic examination of India's NCAP

Authors: Himanshi Bhatia; Karun Sanjaya

Addresses: Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India ' Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India

Abstract: India harbours some of the most polluted cities globally. Consequently, the degrading air quality is contributing to the cascading effects on human health. The pandemic-induced lockdown has revealed natural healing phenomena worldwide, showing that collective action can improve air quality. The Government of India developed the flagship program National Clean Air Programme (NCAP hereinafter) in 2019, covering 122 non-attainment cities, which targets to cut down 20-30% of particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) in the air of 122 cities by the year 2024 with 2017 as the base year. However, the primary concern is whether this five-year national policy is robust. This paper is focused on providing an updated and more in-depth review of the Indian air pollution situation and its related policies. A comparative study will depict the loopholes and initiatives that India must consider from the USA and China's policies.

Keywords: air pollution; NCAP; policy review; Beijing clean air; green taxation; China; USA; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2025.150743

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2025 Vol.24 No.4, pp.385 - 397

Received: 08 Apr 2025
Accepted: 03 Sep 2025
Published online: 22 Dec 2025 *

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