Union minister launches PRANA dashboard for 132 cities

• Union Minister for Environment launched the National Clean Air Programme dashboard—PRANA—for the abatement of air pollution in 132 cities.
• The minister also inaugurated a smog tower in Delhi.
• These 132 cities would be part of a national mission once the framework is ready, and NCAP will be subsumed in it as per the minister.

PRANA – Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment cities

• It is a portal for monitoring of implementation of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• It will support tracking of physical as well as financial status of city air action plan implementation and disseminate information on air quality management efforts under NCAP to public.
• Information related to various activities and their progress under NCAP by various stakeholders shall be available on this portal, which will help in future policy decisions.

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

• The programme has been launched by the Ministry of Environment as a comprehensive initiative in partnership with various Ministries and States to improve air quality at city, regional and national level.
• It is a focused and time bound scheme to implement various sectoral policies, strengthen monitoring and enhance public participation in more than 100 cities for effective air quality management.
• The programme is being implemented since 2019 by the Ministry and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) with targets of 20 to 30 % reduction in Particulate Matter(PM-10 and PM-2.5) concentrations by 2024 across the country.