India sets its own air standards; global rankings not official: Government tells Parliament

The government told Parliament on Thursday (11 December 2025) that the global air quality rankings cited by various organizations are not maintained by any official authority and that the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines serve only as advisory values ​​and not binding standards.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on India’s position in global indices such as IQAir’s World Air Quality Rankings, WHO Global Air Quality Database, Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) measurements, the Ministry of Environment said that there is no official country-wise ranking of pollution across the world.

Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said WHO’s guidelines aim to help countries set their own standards, taking into account geography, environmental conditions, background levels and national circumstances.

He said India has already notified National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 12 pollutants to protect public health and environmental quality.

The minister also revealed that it is conducting its own annual Swachh Vayu Survekshan to assess and rank 130 cities under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) on the basis of air quality improvement measures, even though no global authority has officially ranked countries.

Better performing cities are celebrated on National Swachh Vayu Diwas on September 7 every year.