Miles To Go Before Achieving Efficient Spending in Battling Pollution: CSE Report According to a report called 'National Clean Air Programme: An Agenda for Reform' by the think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reported that only 64 per cent of the total funds to tackle industrial pollution and dust pollution, allotted to 131 cities had been spent so far.

According to a report called 'National Clean Air Programme: An Agenda for Reform' by the think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reported that only 64 per cent of the total funds to tackle industrial pollution and dust pollution, allotted to 131 cities had been spent so far.

This amounts to two-thirds of the entire funding keeping in mind NCAP's initial aim was a 20-30 per cent reduction in PM pollution by this year with a revised target set to a reduction of 40 per cent by 2026.

"While NCAP's objectives and aims have always been commendable, we are finding that attention and investments under it are largely focused on dust control, and not on emission-spewing combustion sources such as industries or vehicles. As much as 64 per cent of the funds utilized under NCAP and the 15th Finance Commission have been spent on road dust mitigation," said CSE Director General Sunita Narain told PTI.

According to the report, among the cities covered under NCAP, 82 of them receive direct funding from the Union Environment Ministry, while as many as 42 cities and seven urban areas with populations over a million get funding from the 15th Finance Commission.

The report goes into detail about the funds utilized, which is reported to be INR 6806 Crore out of the INR 10,566 Crore allocated as of May 3 this year.

Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, CSE said that dust control has become the prime focus for NCAP, and pollutants emitted from combustion sources have been neglected.

While efforts and institutional funding from the government have been crucial in the fight against pollution, private funds are taking a stance of their own in finding groundbreaking ideas and backing them.

Rise in Private Capital

Tata Cleantech Capital Limited (TCCL), a joint venture between TATA Sons and International Finance Corporation (IFC) set up in 2011 boasts to be India's first private sector that focuses on green finance.

According to the National Resources Defence Council (NRDC), TCCL Since its inception has provided funding to more than 350 clean-tech projects with a total investment of close to USD 2.29 Billion. Their data states that its investments in renewable energy projects in India, TCCL (erstwhile) have assisted in avoiding an estimated CO2 equivalent emission of 25.35 billion tonnes.

Groundbreaking Ideas

More recently, Boon, a WaterTech startup focused on remote water purifying, monitoring and dispensing innovations, has raised USD 5 Million in Pre-Series A funding, in a mix of equity and debt. The round was led by Spanish Roca Group Ventures, Roca Group's venturing fund, with participation from others marking the firm's first investment in a startup in India.

Boon said that it aims to drive the fundraise to scale its AI-enabled WaterIoT™ platform. WaterIoT™ helps purifiers monitor the quality of every single drop of water with app-based quality adjustments.

Co-founded by IIT Kanpur alumnus Dr Vibha Tripathi and PennState alumnus Advait Kumar in 2015, Boon (formerly known as Swajal) is a technology startup challenging the inertia around drinking water by providing the purest and most nutritional water for a healthy body.

Advait Kumar, Founder, Boon, said that water has taken a back seat and lately it has been feeling like humans are passive spectators when it comes to water quality, plastic bottles, or microplastics in drinking water.

"We are very excited to have partnered with Roca in our efforts to challenge the status quo of drinking water. Water is the most fundamental of human needs and rights, and capital deployment to enable innovation in hydration is going to be key for our future," said Advait.