The first section focuses on Delhi, after which the discussion expands to solutions being adopted across India.

Delhi

A realistic starting point would be a short, two week period of restricted activity with only essential services running used primarily to study and identify the exact sources of pollutants rather than to achieve a temporary reduction in pollution levels.

There was a decrease in maximum AQI levels during the COVID-19 lockdown. This indicates that vehicular movement is one of the contributors to air pollution.

Such ground level assessments can help draw meaningful conclusions about the major pollution sources and inform how restrictions can be eased in a staggered manner. While economic losses are inevitable the question remains whether public health is being given sufficient priority. Rising AQI levels may not always show an immediate or direct correlation with visible symptoms of air-pollution related diseases but they have a clear and measurable impact on Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Prolonged exposure to polluted air reduces life expectancy, meaning individuals living in highly polluted environments have shorter lifespans compared to those in cleaner areas.

Delhi has requested additional mechanical road sweepers that remove large debris and road dust using water spraying and brushing; however, the proposal is currently on hold due to funding constraints, but this is not enough as we have minute dust particles, we must use vacuum or regenerative air sweeper as mechanical sweeper just blows the dust into the atmosphere again resuspending it. Whereas fully vacuum based works like a regular household vacuum cleaner. We are using MRS because its cheaper.

Now the Mitigations

At present, we are largely undertaking precautionary measures rather than implementing corrective solutions for air pollution. We already have significant existing sources such as road dust, exposed construction sites and degraded infrastructure that have made air quality unbearable. On top of this policies like EV adoption and E20 blending are being presented as solutions. While these measures may help reduce future emissions in the long run they offer very limited relief when severe pollution already exists. Preventive measures alone cannot address an ongoing crisis without parallel corrective action. To draw an analogy, it is like using a vaccine as a treatment after an infection has already spread prevention is important but it cannot replace immediate corrective intervention. This is the gap that current policies fail to address This method is used in industries too as CAPA, Corrective action and Preventive action. but here we are using Preventive action in the place of Corrective Action.

EVs are generally 10-15% Heavier than Traditional ICE cars, you maybe thinking how does it affect pollution? It just might, The thought behind EVs not polluting environment through vehicular emission is absolutely correct but there is already road dust present on the road, as EVs are heavier, when brakes are applied they resuspend more of the road dust present than ICEs. Now it may sound like not much but when you see 1 in 10 cars are EVs and mostly the users don’t use regenerative braking at the maximum level, this can lead to resuspension of road dust more in comparison to ICEs

“ However, electric vehicles tend to be heavier than conventional cars because of the weight of the car battery. This results in greater tire wear and road dust suspension. Therefore, even with regenerative braking, EVs are not significantly better than other vehicles when it comes to non-exhaust air pollution. Improvements in EV technology could make future electric vehicles lighter than they are now, addressing this issue.” Fiona Green Air Quality Education Specialist

Less than 1% of the population in India aims towards an Electric car with the thought of being eco friendly and lesser pollution, the main reasons are Good performance, Can be charged at home or budget friendly, Incentives given by Government.
These are the main reasons why people are inclined towards the EVs, yes these are beneficial in the long run and it will make things the worst before making them less worse.

Delhi’s new EV policy, with increased incentives, may unintentionally contribute to more pollution.

E20

E20 blending was primarily introduced with the objective of reducing India’s dependence on imported oil and lowering fuel costs although these benefits have not materialised as expected and the reasons for this are well understood. The environmental justification for E20, however is less convincing. While E20 does offer some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at the vehicle tailpipe the key question remains: How significant is this reduction in practice?

E20 slightly reduces tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions per liter but because fuel efficiency drops by around 5–10%, vehicles burn more fuel per kilometer. As a result, the net reduction in tailpipe emissions per kilometer is modest not dramatic. This raises questions about how effective E20 is as a climate or air quality solution, especially when upstream emissions from agriculture and ethanol production are considered.

E20 may slightly change tailpipe carbon accounting but it does not significantly reduce fuel consumption, nor does it address the main sources of urban air pollution

Mr Gadkari said “The substitution of crude oil with ethanol has already yielded significant environmental benefits. The resulting reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is approximately 245 lakh metric tons. The total carbon emission reduction is 736 lakh metric tons, which is equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 30 crore trees.”

Ethanol, he stressed, is a “green, pollution-reducing fuel” that is central to India’s efforts to become self-reliant in energy.

Well this may sound good but its not as we haven't even considered the increasing demand of Sugarcane mainly for ethanol production.

Source: https://www.nsws.gov.in/portal/scheme/ethanol-policy

Since 2018, the demand for sugarcane has increased significantly, nearly tripling. This rapid growth indicates that the industry is expanding far more than is often acknowledged. Such expansion inevitably requires greater use of resources including increased mining for raw materials, more construction to accommodate new facilities and higher overall energy and material consumption. These may appear to be minor or indirect factors when viewed in isolation, but they illustrate how interconnected systems operate, collectively contributing to increased pollution.

In ethanol production from sugarcane, heat is a major input. Conventionally many distilleries still rely on coal or bagasse to generate the steam and energy needed for processing. While some integrated sugar mills use bagasse, coal remains a significant fuel source in many standalone ethanol plants. However, when reviewing the publicly available information on ethanol producer websites, I was unable to find clear disclosures about their energy fuel mix or the emissions associated with their operations. Most producers do not provide detailed data on how much coal or other fossil fuels they burn, nor do they report comprehensive emissions figures. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to assess the true environmental impact of ethanol production

When ethanol demand increases, production capacity has to scale up. That scaling involves new or expanded industries which brings construction activity and increased logistics largely diesel based. This leads to additional emissions unless the entire ethanol supply chain from agriculture to processing to transport runs on renewable energy end to end.
Though they say e20 pollutes less when inside your vehicle, the ethanol part shifts the pollution to the industries

The net outcome remains the same.

This may change when all industries are constructed to the capacity of the ethanol needed but again. It will just become the worst before it becomes less worse. I have not used AI for information gathering only for formatting and structuring. This analysis reflects my independent research and observations as a 22-year-old trying to understand why air pollution continues to worsen despite visible interventions. Thank you.

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India's Air Pollution

The first section focuses on Delhi, after which the discussion expands to solutions being adopted across India.

Delhi

Now the Mitigations

E20

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