Indian women walk along a track as a train waits amid heavy fog and air pollution at Sahibabad station in Ghaziabad, some 25 kilometers east of New Delhi, on January 1. Photo: VCG

 India is considering plans to cut down the particulate matter (PM) concentration by 20 to 30 percent in efforts to reduce air pollution, federal Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said Sunday.

The environment ministry is, through the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), taking a holistic approach to reducing air pollution in 122 cities in the country, the minister said when interacting on social media on the subject.

In India, the major causes of air pollution include emissions from vehicles and industrial activities, dust from construction and demolition sites, biomass burning, poor waste management and stubble burning among others. In particular, plus geographical and meteorological factors, the pollution in northern India worsen during winters, he said.

In efforts to reduce air pollution, the minister said, India introduced higher emissions control standards in April nationwide to cut vehicle pollution remarkably.

According to him, as a result, India's poor-quality air days have reduced to 56 in the first nine months this year, compared to 156 in the same period of 2016.