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:

Why Pahlé India Foundation
Pahlé India Foundation is uniquely positioned to house PAVANA. As an independent, non-partisan think-and-action tank, PIF has over a decade-long track record of credible, evidence-driven engagement with government at the highest levels — from NITI Aayog to state administrations. PAVANA will benefit from PIF’s established networks, institutional reputation, and its proven model of translating rigorous research into on-ground policy impact.

PIF’s existing initiative India-Lead Elimination Action Partnerships (i-LEAP) — which addresses the health consequences of lead poisoning in India — demonstrates PIF’s established capability in environmental health policy. PAVANA is a timely and necessary expansion given the scale of India’s air pollution crisis and its deepening consequences for public health and economic productivity. As part of PIF, PAVANA inherits a mandate rooted in PIF’s core philosophy: Putting India First to Make India First.

 

What Makes PAVANA Different
PAVANA is not a general environmental research centre. Its distinctiveness lies in five commitments:

  • Exclusively focused on air pollution and health — depth over breadth
  • Policy-first orientation — research designed to inform decisions
  • Health equity lens — who bears the greatest burden and why
  • Intervention-focused — identifying what works, what it costs, and what it returns
  • Communication-driven — making evidence accessible and actionable for diverse audiences
  • Independent and credible — housed within PIF, a trusted voice in the Indian policy discourse

Invitation to Partner
PAVANA is actively seeking founding partnerships with organisations that share its commitment to evidence-based action on air pollution and environmental health in India. We welcome conversations with:

  • Philanthropic foundations and CSR programmes with an interest in public health or the environment
  • Bilateral and multilateral development agencies working on India’s health or climate agenda
  • Academic and research institutions seeking India-based policy research partnerships
  • Civil society organisations working on clean air, health equity, or community advocacy

Clean air is not a luxury. It is a right. Together, we can build the evidence, shift the policy conversation, and make that case — compellingly and credibly.