Uttar Pradesh

• 22 Mar 2025

National Conference on NCAP

Why in News? 

National Conference on National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was organised in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh . 

Key Points 

• About the conference: 
  • This conference was organized with the joint efforts of Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation and WRI India. 
  • The Chief Minister emphasized on environmental protection and minimizing carbon emissions in the conference. He said that the Net Zero target (2070) can be achieved only by coordinating technology and public awareness . 
  • In his address, he said that since 2017, 17 lakh halogen street lights have been replaced with LED street lights. This has led to savings of Rs 1000 crore and reduction in energy consumption . 
  • The Chief Minister said that the foundation stone of a plant was laid in Lakhimpur to make products from banana fibre , where the manufactured products will decompose and mix with the soil in three months . 
  • In this conference , there was also discussion on preparing an effective strategy to make Gorakhpur free from open burning of waste by the year 2027. 

 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) 

• About: 
  • The NCAP aims to systematically address air pollution by involving all stakeholders and ensuring necessary action. 
  • Under NCAP, 131 cities have been identified for implementation of city specific action plans. 
• Objective:  
  • This is the first attempt in the country to develop a national framework for air quality management with the goal of time-bound reduction . 
  • It aims to reduce the concentration of coarse (PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5) by at least 20% over the next five years (base year for comparison – 2017). 
• Monitoring: 
  • “PRANA” portal has also been launched by MoEFCC : 
    • To monitor the implementation of NCAP. 
    • Monitoring action plans and implementation status of cities. 
    • Sharing best practices adopted by cities for others to emulate. 

 World Resources Institute India 

• About: 
  • WRI India (World Resources Institute India) is an independent research organisation, registered as  India Resources Trust . 
  • It is inspired by and affiliated with the World Resources Institute (WRI) , which was founded in  Washington, DC in 1982 to address global environmental and development challenges . 
• Objective: 
  • It aims to promote  environmentally healthy and socially just development . 
  • WRI India develops  transformative solutions to protect the environment, enhance livelihoods and enhance human well-being through research, analysis and policy recommendations . 
  • It is working on sustainable development projects in various states of India . 
• Headquarters: 
  • The headquarter of WRI India is located in  New Delhi .