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Pollution and Environmental Governance – UPSC GS3

This module of the GS Paper 3: Economy, Environment, S&T & Security course covers air, water, soil and waste pollution, and environmental impact assessment. It has 3 study lessons and a 24-question practice quiz. Free lessons can be read in full; premium lessons show a preview.

Lessons in this module

1. Air Pollution: Sources, Health Effects and Policy

Free 7 min

Air pollution is India's largest environmental health risk. The State of Global Air 2024 report linked about 21 lakh deaths in India in 2021 to air pollution (outdoor and household combined). India's cities: Indian cities…

2. Water, Soil and Waste Pollution: Plastics, E-waste and Solid Waste

Premium 7 min

Sources: untreated sewage: the largest source. India's urban areas generate about 72,000 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage, but treatment capacity is only about 28–30% of that in operation (CPCB, 2020–21 data); industrial effluents:…

3. Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Governance

Premium 7 min

What it is: a process to predict and evaluate the environmental and social impacts of a proposed project before it is approved, so that harmful projects are rejected or redesigned and mitigation measures are built…

 Module quiz: Pollution and Environmental Governance (24 questions)

Maps & infographics in this module

Daily deaths and pollution levels during the Great Smog of London, December 1952
Daily deaths and pollution levels during the Great Smog of London, December 1952. Credit: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
Crop fires in north India on 28 October 2020, seen by NASA's MODIS satellite
Crop fires in north India on 28 October 2020, seen by NASA's MODIS satellite. Credit: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
Bar chart comparing annual PM2.5 standards: WHO guideline 5, WHO interim target 1 at 35, USA 9, EU 10 by 2030 and India 40 micrograms per cubic metre
India's standard is close to the WHO's first interim target; many Indian cities exceed even that.
Cycle diagram of factors behind the north Indian winter smog: stubble burning, temperature inversion, low wind, local sources, secondary particle formation and the Indo-Gangetic Plain bowl
Meteorology turns everyday emissions into emergencies.
Organogram of air quality governance under MoEFCC: pollution control boards, NCAP, CAQM and sectoral rules
Multiple bodies share responsibility, which complicates accountability.
Model of floating plastic pollution across the world's oceans
Model of floating plastic pollution across the world's oceans. Credit: Wikimedia Commons · CC0.

Frequently asked questions

Lessons: Air Pollution: Sources, Health Effects and Policy; Water, Soil and Waste Pollution: Plastics, E-waste and Solid Waste; Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Governance.

Answer: 5 µg/m³. 5.

Answer: a secondary pollutant. Secondary.

Answer: 2019. Jan 2019.

Answer: EPCA. EPCA.

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