When we think of air pollution, the smoggy outdoor haze of metropolitan cities comes to mind. With India being home to 21 out of 30 of the world’s most polluted cities, the visualization as an outdoor phenomenon is not completely wrong.
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The ambient concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5 particles that have an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, 20-30 times less than the size of a single strand of human hair) in our cities is far more than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 10µg/m3 as well as that of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Standard 40µg/m3.
As a result, we prefer staying indoors in the safety of controlled environments to protect ourselves from this health hazard. However, many of us are unaware that the level of indoor air pollution in majority of Indian households is far worse than the outdoor ambient air pollution one.
On an average, the Indian population spends 80% of their time in an indoor environment. The PM2.5 concentration in majority of Indian households ranges from 86-882 µg/m3. A higher PM2.5 concentration in a closed environment is ten times more harmful than a similar outdoor concentration because contained areas enable potential pollutants to build up more than open spaces do.
There are several sources of indoor air pollution. These include smoke from fuel burned for heating and cooking, smoke from tobacco, building materials (paints, varnishes, wood flooring, etc.), adhesives in furniture and electronics, broken CFLs and tube lights, excess moisture, and overall outdoor air pollution.
Out of these sources, burning solid fuel for cooking is the leading source of indoor air pollution in India. According to a recent Global Burden of Disease estimation, solid fuel burned for coking accounted for six lakh premature deaths in 2019 in India.
Census of India Projected Population 2019 and Indicators of Social Consumption suggests that 36% of the total Indian population uses solid fuels (firewood, crop residue, cow dung cake, coal, lignite and charcoal) and kerosene as primary cooking fuel as of 2020. The use of solid fuels and kerosene as primary cooking fuels is much higher in rural areas (51%) than in urban areas (9%).
There is a decrease in the use of solid fuels as primary cooking fuel in India because of rising income and the implementation of policies like Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana. In the recent estimation by Global Burden of Disease, it is still ranked sixth among the top risk factors for premature mortalities in India.
A deeper analysis of the latest available microdata of National Sample Survey, Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity and Indicators of Social Consumption indicates that 77% of the Indian population uses solid fuels for cooking either as primary or secondary fuel, much higher than primary solid fuel use data of 36%.
This means that current studies might be underestimating the number of premature mortalities associated with indoor air pollution. The analysis indicates that many LPG users also use solid fuels for cooking as a secondary fuel.
However, there is no or limited direct data available for secondary fuel use by LPG users; therefore, many-a-times, we only consider primary fuel data for scientific studies and policymaking. There are several reasons for the use of secondary solid fuel use by LPG users that includes economic, accessibility of LPG, social, and behavioral reasons. This shows that scientific and policymaking communities need to strongly consider this invisible data of secondary use of solid fuels by LPG users while framing India’s indoor pollution policies.
Besides improving outdoor and indoor air quality by focusing on clean cooking fuel for households would also give other co-benefits such as empowering women and protecting children. Conducting mass awareness programs for secondary solid fuel users who already own an LPG connection can reduce indoor air pollution and associated emissions of 41% of households (secondary fuel user) out of a total of 77% (primary and secondary) solid fuel users. This is a low hanging fruit which will reduce both indoor and outdoor air pollution, however not much is being done in this direction.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)