New Delhi: The Union government has said in parliament that there is “no conclusive national data to establish a direct correlation between deaths or diseases occurring exclusively due to air pollution” at a time when the pollution in several Indian cities and most visibly, the national capital, has been a major source of concern and ill health.The level of pollutants in Delhi’s air has sparked protests from residents, and their heavy-handed quelling by law enforcement.In its answer to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien, junior health minister Prataprao Jadhav said that “air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases”.O’Brien had asked:Will the Minister of Health and Family Welfare be pleased to state:-(a) whether it is a fact that over 1.7 million deaths in 2022 were attributable to PM2.5 in the country;(b) whether it is also a fact that outdoor air pollution caused losses of about 9.5 per cent of GDP;(c) Government’s official estimate of deaths from air pollution in the last five years State/UT-wise;(d) whether Government has assessed the economic loss due to air pollution, if so, the details thereof; and(e) whether any plan has been formulated to reduce PM2.5 exposure with time-bound targets, if so, the details thereof?In reply, Jadhav said, “There is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of death/ disease exclusively due to air pollution. Air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases.”He then appeared to attribute the impact of air pollution on the human body to a multitude of factors, saying, “Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socioeconomic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc. of the individuals.”In an annexure, Jadhav listed the “several steps” taken by the Union government to “address air pollution issues.”It cited the implementation of National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) under which it has developed a “Health Adaptation Plan” on health issues due to Air Pollution and a “State Action Plan” on climate change and human health for all 36 State/UTs.“This State specific Action Plan contains dedicated chapter on air pollution which suggests interventions to reduce the impact,” the government said.The Union government also cited health ministry public health advisories to states and Union territories “suggesting ways to reduce the impact of air pollution” and nationwide public awareness campaigns on World Environment Day (5th June), International Day ofClean Air for blue skies (7th September) and National Pollution Control Day (2nd December) as ways in which it has tried to beat the effects of air pollution on health.The government claimed it has developed “dedicated training modules” for programme managers, medical officers and nurses, nodal officers, women and children, traffic police, frontline workers like ASHA, and so on.It also cited communication material on air pollution-related illnesses, capacity building workshops for state-level trainers, early warning systems, the Swachh Bharat Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana “which aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel”.The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched National Clean Air programme in 2019 as a national-level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country, the government said in its reply.