The Case for Action
India bears one of the heaviest air pollution burdens in the world. Thirteen of the world’s twenty most polluted cities are in India. Air pollution — both ambient and indoor — is now the second leading risk factor for death in the country, responsible for over 1.6 million premature deaths annually. The health consequences are severe: respiratory disease, cardiovascular illness, cancer, neurological damage, adverse birth outcomes, and stunted child development.
Yet the policy response remains fragmented, under-resourced, and insufficiently grounded in evidence. Regulatory frameworks exist but are weakly enforced. Interventions are rarely prioritised by cost-effectiveness. The science-to-policy pipeline is broken.
PAVANA is established to fix this.
About PAVANA
PAVANA — the Centre for Air Pollution and Environmental Health at Pahlé India Foundation — generates rigorous, independent, and actionable evidence on air pollution and its health consequences, and translates that evidence into policy change. The name draws from the Sanskrit ‘Pavana’ (पवन) — wind and the purifying force of nature –reflecting the aspiration to restore the quality of the air India breathes.
Vision and Mission
Vision
An India where clean air is a fundamental determinant of health and human development — where evidence drives environmental policy and no citizen bears a disproportionate burden of pollution-linked disease due to failures of governance.
Mission
PAVANA generates independent, policy-relevant research on air pollution and its consequences for environmental and human health in India. We translate evidence into action — identifying the most effective and affordable interventions across sectors and equipping policymakers, communities, and communicators with the tools to demand and sustain change.
Areas of Work
PAVANA’s work is organised around five mutually reinforcing pillars:
