The Long Game: Building Endurance for India’s Clean Air Future

Looking ahead, action must expand beyond 131 cities to a wider airshed and state-level approach, with stronger monitoring networks, use of low-cost sensors, and funding tied to measurable emission reductions. This would ensure clean air efforts reach not just cities but also peri-urban and rural areas.

Endurance – Building Stamina for the Long Run

Air pollution in India has built up over decades, and quick fixes like water sprinkling or traffic bans are not enough; real solutions require persistence, strong governance, and long-term planning, as reflected in the extension of NCAP to 2026 (PIB, 2023). Endurance means creating solutions that last beyond political cycles, with community-led models such as solar microgrids run by self-help groups showing the power of local ownership. 

For Jharkhand, where over half the districts depend on coal and nearly a third of state revenues are tied to it, the transition will demand decades of planning, large-scale skill development, and economic diversification (Times of India, 2025). 

Endurance also depends on stronger institutional capacity, with state-led hybrid models reducing overlaps and composite indicators like absolute PM2.5 reduction providing a clearer measure of progress. Taken together, these approaches can make the transition consistent, accountable, and inclusive, especially critical for coal-dependent states like Jharkhand. The message is clear: the race has started, but we cannot lose momentum.

Equity – Who Breathes What?

Here’s the harshest truth: clean air is not evenly shared. A roadside chai-seller in Delhi, a construction-site worker in Mumbai, a child in a village kitchen burning firewood, or a miner’s family living near a coalfield in Jharkhand breathes in far more toxic air. A Around 40% of households still rely on solid fuels such as wood, dung, and crop residue, leading to over 600,000 premature deaths annually from household air pollution (IHME, 2020; WHO, 2021). Roadside and informal workers in cities like Delhi are exposed to PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 15–20 times the WHO safe limit of 5 µg/m³ (CPCB, 2023). Children are particularly at risk, with air pollution contributing to 18% of annual deaths among those under five (UNICEF, 2019).

Ensuring equity means prioritising access to clean cooking fuels, protecting low-income communities near industrial zones, and adopting inclusive planning that reduces exposure for the most at risk. Such measures would not only lower pollution but also create healthier, more resilient communities. If every breath matters, then clean air must be treated as a basic right, not a luxury.

Jharkhand’s Crossroads – From Coal Dust to Blue Skies

Jharkhand represents the heart of India’s challenge. With 13 out of 24 districts rich in coal and 32% of state revenues tied to coal, the state’s economy is deeply dependent on fossil fuels (Times of India, 2025). Transitioning to a clean future here is not only about replacing coal with renewables, but also about reshaping livelihoods and ensuring social justice.

Jharkhand has an estimated renewable energy potential of nearly 66 GW, including about 46 GW from solar and wind and 20 GW from pumped hydro storage (as shown in figure 2 and 3), but current deployment is just 434 MW, around 7% of its capacity (CEED & Government of Jharkhand, 2025; MNRE, 2025). Transitioning away from coal will take decades, requiring careful planning, large-scale skill development, and economic diversification. Long-term strategies will need to focus on reskilling workers, effectively using DMFT funds for livelihood diversification, empowering panchayats in local planning, and ensuring women and tribal communities are actively involved in decision-making (CEED, 2025).