Specialisation:

Air Quality and Pollution Control; Environmental Engineering

Major Professional Contributions:

A. To National Policies Dr. Sharma is committed to address and seek solutions to the concerns relevant to the societal needs, as a result, he is called up on by the Government to advise in policy making for environmental issues. Some of his contributions are highlighted below. National Air Quality Index Most noted contribution is development of the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) which was launched by the Prime Minister on April 6, 2015 (http://www.iitk.ac.in/new/national-air-quality-index). The NAQI translates individual air pollutant concentrations into a single number that reflects the status of air quality in simple terms for common citizens. It is noteworthy that the Government has prepared graded action plan based on the NAQI (http://cpcbenvis.nic.in/pdf/final_graded_table.pdf). National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and Gazette Notification NAAQS are the basic foundation on which entire pollution control regulatory framework stands. The revised NAAQS and inclusion of new parameters was carried by Dr. Sharma through a project to IIT Kanpur in along with CPCB (http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/Press%20Note%20on%20RNAAQS_0.pdf). The NAAQS was deliberated upon extensively and has been notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 on 16.11.2009 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Air Pollution Control Plan of Delhi To effectively address the air pollution problem in the city of Delhi by identifying major air pollution sources, their contributions to ambient air pollution levels and develop an air pollution control plan, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi sponsored the study to Dr. Mukesh Sharma and his report was accepted by the Government (http://delhi.gov.in/DoIT/Environment/PDFs/Final_Report.pdf) and several policy measures have been taken. NITI Aayog CII Initiative: Cleaner Air Better Life Initiative NITI Aayog CII Initiative has taken the cognizance of Air Quality study Dr. Sharma and prepared the action plans for three sectors: Biomass Management, Clean Fuel and Clean Transportation. The NITI Aayog - CII report quotes “A recent and most comprehensive study has been undertaken by IIT Kanpur (IIT-K) on behalf of NCTD. Findings from IIT-K study are being considered as the basis for designing the action plans for the initiative.” (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/niti-aayog-releases-reports-on-biomass-management-clean-fuel-and-clean-transport-59790)

Consultancy Areas:

Sector Associated With:

Academia

Sectors Interested to Offer Service:

Educational / Academic institutions, Industry (Private), Industry (PSUs), R&D Organizations, Government (including funding agencies), Consultancy Firms

Professional Experience

Professor (2003 - present), IIT Kanpur Associate Professor (1997 - 2003), IIT Kanpur Environmental Engineer (1988 - 1997), Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi

Keywords

Air quality, Volatile Organic Compounds, Photocatalyst, TiO2, EIA, Environmental Audit, Mercury control