Large point source (LPS) emissions from India: regional and sectoral analysis

Indian large point sources (LPS) contribute to CO2 and SO2 emissions to a large extent (above 65%) and to CH4, N2O and NOX emissions to some extent (around 10%). The former emissions are primarily from fossil fuel combustion while the latter have agriculture sector dominance, explaining the drastic difference in LPS contributions to all India emissions. The present paper covers 509 LPS for India. These are well distributed across the country. However, there are some regions of very few LPS (like the western desert and the hilly areas of north, northeast and coastal west) and some regions of high LPS concentration (Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor, Delhi and near coal mine mouths). There is a dominance of power plants in Indian LPS emissions for CO2 and SO2 (47% each), with cement (9% and 5%) and steel (6% and 7%) plants being the other major contributors. Moreover, due to growing population, increasing urbanization and higher consumption levels, these LPS emissions are growing much faster than the national average. The present analysis would be useful for policy-making to mitigate these pollutants and their associated impacts.