Clean air good for body'n'business
pollution led to more than 2.3 mn premature deaths in India. Such an environmental crisis makes a mockery of the 'ease of living' index and is no help to any 'ease of doing business' index either.
Air pollution impacts a significant proportion of the global population. In 2022, WHO pointed out that almost 99% of people breathe air that breaches its standards. As India gears up for a higher growth trajectory to build a ₹5 tn economy, substandard air can derail the India story in multiple ways.
When people are ill, productivity plunges, absenteeism increases, healthcare expenses rise and savings fall. Women, socially entrusted with care-giving tasks, are compelled to take leave to look after impacted family members. They could even drop out of the workforce.
UnfAIR, a June 2023 Chintan study, found at least 75% of those working outdoors suffered abnormal pulmonary function, compared with 45% from a control group. How can cities run efficiently when essential workers aren't fit? A 2019 CII-Dalberg-Clean Air Fund report, 'The Silent Pandemic', suggests air pollution costs Indian businesses the equivalent of 3% of its GDP. Mindbogglingly, India also lost 1.3 bn workdays in 2019.
Multiple considerations attract investors. Air pollution raises concerns. How will global talent be hired and retained? How can competitive costs stay intact? Cost of abating air pollution can diminish India's 33% cost advantage over the Philippines in the IT sector. The tourism sector, one of our biggest employment generators, can be
