Delhi govt to explore AI-based solutions for pollution control

Delhi government plans to use AI for air pollution management, signing an MoU with IIT Kanpur's AIRAWAT Foundation to enhance air quality monitoring.

The Delhi government is planning to explore the possibility of using artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies for monitoring, analysing, and managing air pollution in the Capital, environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the initiative, Sirsa said that Delhi needs technology-backed solutions to deal with air pollution. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Officials said the government is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the AIRAWAT Research Foundation (ARF), associated with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur by next week.

The proposed collaboration aims to establish a framework for deploying AI-based, sensor-enabled and analytics-driven systems to strengthen Delhi’s air quality management architecture, officials said.

Speaking on the initiative, Sirsa said that Delhi needs technology-backed solutions to deal with air pollution. “Our government is committed to using every credible scientific and technological tool available to protect the health of citizens. This MoU reflects our resolve to build a smarter, more responsive environmental governance system,” Sirsa said.

According to officials the partnership is proposed as a knowledge collaboration and does not involve any financial commitment from the environment department as of now.

“This is a knowledge partnership which aims to study the potential of AI-based air quality technologies developed by ARF,” the minister said.

According to officials, the collaboration is expected to generate sharper insights into pollution patterns, identify localised pollution sources and enable timely interventions by combining AI tools, sensor networks and analytics platforms.

Sirsa further said, “We want Delhi’s pollution response to be driven by data, guided by science and supported by robust institutional coordination.”

The minister noted that such partnerships are crucial for creating long-term, scalable solutions. “Short-term measures cannot solve Delhi’s air quality challenge. We need integrated systems that can detect, predict and help mitigate pollution more effectively. This MoU is an important step in that direction,” he added.