In its battle against bad air quality in the country, the government has launched a national knowledge network comprising IITs and other institutes to support the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aimed at reducing air pollution by 20-30 per cent in the next five years. The institutions which have been made a part of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) are IITs of Delhi, Kanpur, Madras, Bombay, Roorkee, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Tirupati.

The National Knowledge Network was kicked off at an event in Lucknow inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday. Air pollution is a growing concern as it impacts the country’s public health, crop yield, weather, climate, ecosystems and heritage. While poor air quality is a global problem, the country faces a high disease burden with swathes of population living in places with high particulate matter that causes both acute and chronic health impacts.

Highlighting the importance of the NKN, Professor Tripathi said that integration of higher learning institutions in planning, implementation and monitoring of air pollution across the country will be an important support to NCAP.

He said the technical institutes will offer organised assistance in monitoring, identifying sources, and prioritizing action towards air quality management and will play the necessary supporting role by providing regular inputs to state pollution control boards and work towards a systematic reduction of pollution sources across key cities.