India Sets Own Air Standards, Calls Global Rankings Unofficial: Centre

• India's government states global air quality rankings are not official and WHO guidelines are advisory, not binding standards.
• The Environment Ministry clarified that no official country-wise pollution ranking is carried out worldwide.
• India has notified its own National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 12 pollutants to protect public health and environmental quality.
• India conducts an annual Swachh Vayu Survekshan to assess and rank 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

Why It Matters: India sets its own air quality standards, not bound by unofficial global rankings.