Key highlights

• NCAP was launched in January 2019 to improve air quality across 131 cities in 24 States/UTs. Press Information Bureau
• Official targets include up to 40% reduction in PM10 (or meeting national standards) by 2025–26. Press Information Bureau+1
• Implementation and progress tracking are supported through the PRANA portal. Press Information Bureau+1

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) gets dragged into politics because air is emotional. But the programme itself is best understood as a policy instrument with published targets, a timeline, and a tracking spine.

Officially, NCAP was launched in January 2019 with the aim to improve air quality in 131 cities across 24 States/UTs, engaging stakeholders across levels. Press Information Bureau

On targets: the government has stated that the goal has been revised to achieve up to a 40% reduction in PM10 levelsor to meet national standards (60 µg/m³ for PM10) by 2025–26. That’s a measurable ambition—and also a deadline that naturally invites scrutiny as 2026 approaches. Press Information Bureau+1

On monitoring: Parliamentary releases and official notes repeatedly reference the PRANA portal as the platform to monitor implementation and track physical and financial progress under NCAP. That matters because air policy fails when it’s only speeches; it succeeds when it’s dashboards, timelines, procurement, and follow-through. Press Information Bureau+1

What should readers take away as they enter 2026?

• NCAP is not a single-city story. It is an architecture meant to scale across “non-attainment” and million-plus cities. Press Information Bureau
• Targets are framed around particulate pollution (PM10 especially), because that’s where chronic public health risk and visible haze often meet. Press Information Bureau
• The real test is not the existence of plans—it’s whether cities execute consistently enough for trendlines to bend, not just fluctuate. Press Information Bureau+1

NCAP is, at its best, a long patience project. And patience, in Indian winters, is exactly what the air runs out of first.