Kickstarting the National Air Quality Resource Framework of India

Image for representational purpose only

On 22nd June 2022, a Brainstorming Workshop was held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, to kickstart the national mission on the National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI). The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, who talked about the complex and multidimensional nature of the pollution problem and emphasised the need for multi-sectoral collaboration among the government, industry, and the citizens, to tackle the challenge. 

NARFI, developed by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) with support from the O/o PSA, is a step in this direction. It is a comprehensive guide to collecting air quality data, analyzing the data for an understanding of its impact, and implementing scientific solutions. It is meant to help decision-makers in governments, municipalities, start-ups, and the private sector to address air quality issues in the various climatic zones of our country. 

The Brainstorming Workshop conducted to get NARFI going was attended by delegates from government and non-governmental organisations, scientists, and industry and start-up representatives. These included Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Director, NIAS, and former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India; Dr. (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, O/o PSA; Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi; and Prof. Gufran Beig and Dr. M. Mohanty, Project Coordinators of NARFI.

Source: PIB