Pollution Index (pi)

Pollution Index (PI)

The Pollution Index (PI) of any industrial sector is a number from 0 to 100 and the increasing value of PI denotes the increasing degree of pollution load from the industrial sector.
The new system is based on the pollution index (PI) which is derived only from:
- The quantity of emissions (air pollution), quantity of effluents (water pollution), hazardous wastes generated and Consumption of resources by an industry.
  • The index is based on the concentrations of 5 pollutants: Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) and PM10.
  • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has developed the criteria of categorization of industrial sectors based on the Pollution Index. For this purpose the references are taken from the the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Cess (Amendment) Act, 2003, Standards so far prescribed for various pollutants under Environment (Protection) Act , 1986 and Doon Valley Notification, 1989 issued by MoEFCC. Based on the series of brain storming sessions among CPCB, SPCBs and MoEFCC, the following criteria on ‘Range of Pollution Index ‘for the purpose of categorization of industrial sectors is finalized.UPSC Prelims 2024 dynamic test series
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 60 and above - Red category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 41 to 59 – Orange category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 21 to 40 – Green category
- Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score incl. & upto 20 - White category
  • The purpose of the categorization is to ensure that the industry is established in a manner which is consistent with the environmental objectives. The new criteria will prompt industrial sectors willing to adopt cleaner technologies, ultimately resulting in generation of fewer pollutants.
  • Another feature of the new categorization system lies in facilitating self-assessment by industries as the subjectivity of earlier assessment has been eliminated.
This ‘Re-categorization’ is a part of the efforts, policies and objective of present government to create a clean & transparent working environment in the country and promote the Ease of Doing Business.

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