Economic cost of pollution

It could affect productivity and long-term growth

India is incurring a staggering annual economic loss of around $37 billion, or nearly 1.4 per cent of its gross domestic product, due to its failure to restrain air pollution. Worse still, about 1.67 million lives are lost every year due to causes attributable directly or tacitly to contaminated air. This death tally is the highest in the world and exceeds the loss of life due to Covid-19. Such massive economic, health, and, hence, productivity deprivation could mar India’s aspiration for rapid economic growth. The report of the study published in The Lancet, the health journal, which makes these startling