About NCAP

• The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) as a time-bound, national level strategy to tackle the air pollution crisis in the country in a comprehensive manner. 
• The national level target of 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 was proposed under the NCAP, taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration. 
• To begin with, city specific action plans were formulated for 102 non-attainment cities, which exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 5 consecutive years.
• Gradually, the number of cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under NCAP was increased to 131. 
• In 2022, the NCAP target was revised to a 40 per cent reduction in particulate matter concentration in cities and the deadline was extended till 2025-26.

Why in News?

• An amount of Rs 9650 Cr has been released to the identified 131 cities from FY 2019-20 till FY 2023-24 under NCAP. 

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1989207