Centre considers ₹1,150 crore scheme to curb industrial pollution in NCR

Other fiscal interventions in recent years were aimed at controlling stubble burning and dust and improving air quality monitoring. They include investments through the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the National Capital Region Planning Board to bolster regional anti-pollution infrastructure, public transport expansion and cleaner industrial transitions.

A January 2026 report by CAQM, prepared on the Supreme Court’s directive, said industry, including thermal power plants, accounts for 9% of PM2.5 concentration in winter and 14% in summer in Delhi. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter in the air that is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Inhalation of these particles can cause serious health problems.

But industry also contributes to secondary particulate matter—formed from gases emitted by transport, industry and biomass burning—which is the largest contributor to PM2.5 in Delhi at 27% in winter and 17% in summer, it showed.

In the broader NCR, industry’s contribution to PM2.5 concentration was 13% in winter and 15% in summer, according to a 2018 study by The Energy and Resources Institute and the Automotive Research Association of India.