Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath raises concern over air pollution in India’s costliest cities

Nithin Kamath noted while Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are among the top 15 cities in terms of property prices, their air quality index leaves much to be desired

Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha, has raised concerns over the severe air pollution in India’s most expensive cities, particularly Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. He highlighted that while property prices in these cities are among the highest in the country, their air quality index leaves much to be desired.

Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha, has raised concerns over the severe air pollution in India’s most expensive cities, particularly Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.(File Photo)

“Btw, pollution will eventually feed into prices. Higher pollution means more health issues, and insurance companies are apparently considering increasing health premiums by 10%-15% for people in Delhi. Now think about all the other channels through which pollution will interact with prices and inflation. This is scary,” he wrote on X.

Referring to Knight and Frank's Q4 2024 Global Luxury Market Rankings, Kamath wrote on X, "Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru were among the top 15 cities in terms of rise in home price increase. What doesn't get nearly enough attention is the AQI of the three cities."

He emphasized that India's pricier cities tend to have the worst air quality, and the reported figures often underestimate pollution levels, as many areas exceed the city's average AQI.

Rising pollution a cause of worry

Kamath referred to a report from OurWorldInData, which highlights a U-shaped trend in pollution levels during a country’s development. He explained that pollution typically rises with industrialization but declines as nations advance economically, a pattern seen in countries like the US, UK, and China.

However, Kamath stressed that while pollution levels may naturally decrease with economic progress, they shouldn’t be regarded as an inevitable consequence of growth. He pointed out two major pollutants—sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ)—which are closely linked to the energy and transportation sectors.

"One obvious way to reduce SO₂ emissions is to install scrubbers in power plants, which helps capture sulfur, which we haven't done in India. Even though China continues to burn record amounts of coal, its sulfur emissions have gone down because of this. In India, both coal use and SO₂ emissions are still rising," Kamath said.

Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru see a 4-6% increase in luxury property prices

Knight Frank's Q4 2024 Global Luxury Market Rankings noted that Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru saw a 4–6% increase in the average annual prices of prime residential or luxury homes in Q4 2024.