Question

In India, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act came into force in the year 1981 but was amended in the year____ to include_____ as a pollutant.
(A) 1990, Noise
(B) 1984, Particulate matter
(C) 1987, PAN
(D) 1987, Noise

Answer 1

Hint: The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was amended after six years when it came into force and after amendment, it also includes loud or unpleasant sound as a pollutant.

Complete answer:
 In India, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act came into force in the year 1981 but was amended in the year 1987 to include noise as a pollutant. This was the first attempt by the Indian government to combat air pollution.

Additional Information:
Air pollution in India could be a serious health issue. Of the foremost polluted cities within the world, 21 out of 30 were in India in 2019. As per a study supported 2016 data, a minimum of 140 million people in India breathe air that's 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit and 13 of the world's 20 cities with the very best annual levels of pollution are in India. $51\%$ of pollution is caused by economic pollution, $27\%$ is caused by vehicles, $17\%$ by crop burning, and $5\%$ by Diwali fireworks. pollution contributes to the premature deaths of two million Indians per annum. The Emissions mostly come from various sources like vehicles and industry, whereas in rural areas, most of the pollution stems from biomass burning for cooking and keeping warm. Agricultural activities also cause pollution, for example, in autumn and winter months, large-scale crop residue burning in agriculture fields – a less expensive alternative to mechanical tilling – may be a source of smoke, smog, and particulate pollution.
So, the correct answer is ‘(D) 1987, Noise’.

Note: As you all know that earlier, noise pollution and its sources were addressed under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. But they are now addressed separately under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.