India sets its own air norms: Government calls global pollution rankings unofficial

As air pollution remains a persistent national challenge, the Centre told Parliament that the country sets its own air norms and global air quality rankings released by various organisations carry no official sanction. It also added that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guidelines are advisory in nature and do not constitute mandatory standards for India.

The Centre's response on Thursday was to a question in the Rajya Sabha about India’s standing in global indices such as IQAir’s World Air Quality Ranking, the WHO Global Air Quality Database, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) metrics.

Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said WHO guidelines are only meant to help nations frame their own standards, factoring in geography, environmental conditions and local circumstances.