Air pollution in India transcends administrative boundaries, rendering city-centric action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) insufficient to achieve sustainable improvements in air quality. Recent scientific advances demonstrate that pollutant transport, meteorology, and topography define interconnected regional airsheds—spanning clusters of urban, semi-urban, and rural areas—requiring coordinated management. This talk outlines a policy-scientific framework for institutionalizing airshed-based regulation as the next evolution in India’s clean air governance. Using multi-year satellite PM2.5 data, meteorological clustering, and chemical transport modelling, recent studies identify regional airsheds across India, with secondary PM2.5 and transboundary transport contributing more than 50% of total particulate load in several zones. Examples from the Indo-Gangetic Plain highlight the limitations of local interventions when regional sources such as biomass burning or industrial plumes dominate. The talk proposes a regulatory transition from municipal to airshed-level planning, integrating emission inventories, source–receptor modelling, and hybrid monitoring networks combining regulatory and low-cost sensors. Such a framework aligns scientific
evidence with institutional mechanisms to enable joint accountability, cost-effective mitigation, and measurable health benefits—positioning
airshed-based management as the new frontier of India’s air quality policy.