The Centre has told Parliament that there is “no conclusive national data to establish a direct correlation between deaths or diseases occurring exclusively due to air pollution,” a position that stands in sharp contrast to multiple global studies highlighting India’s escalating pollution-linked health burden.

This assertion comes at a time when hazardous air quality across major Indian cities—most visibly Delhi and the National Capital Region—has triggered public demonstrations and renewed demands for decisive clean-air action.

Last December, a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that long-term exposure to polluted air contributes to roughly 15 lakh additional deaths in India each year compared with a scenario in which the country met the World Health Organization

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