Why is India's Air Pollution not so bad news?

While the pollution in India is not something I am proud of, there is a bright side to it.

Thick haze and smoke along the Ganga Basin in northern India, 2004. Source: Wikipedia.

India is in a transition phase from last two decades from a poor, helpless and dependent country to realising the potential of its able minds and providing them an opportunity.  When people see that they possess the capability to do great, they want to see it turn to fruition. Earlier, we had the mindset that "Videshi (foreign) goods are better". This was the case until Indians started manufacturing or innovating the same way as the multi-national companies. Now not only are such products cheaper and of competitive quality, but there is also a sense of pride in using them. How great it feels to boast that Prime Minister of UK uses a car manufactured by JLR, a subsidiary of TATA Motors. 

But this transition had come with a price for other countries too in the past. The Industrial Revolution of Britain, the Industrial Revolution of the United States, and the rise of China's economy led to increased dependency on coal and fossil fuels over the years eventually leading to the Great Smog of London, The New York City Smog and the current situation of China. 

               Great Smogs have been a face of great transitions for a country.

1966 New York City Smog. Source: Wikipedia

The first two countries had many years to improve their situations and are in a much better state now. China had taken effective measures to reduce their pollution levels each year. All these three countries are now a face of development and many countries look up to them as a role model. 

India, on the other hand, currently has 9 cities in the top 10 polluted. All this happened because at the time when indigenous manufacturing began in India, it was still green at large, and people didn't put in much effort to protect it. When you are competing with cheap foreign goods, you don't want to waste money on more expensive technology to check pollution since you are not going to get a certificate or medal for it. After all, everyone thought - "How does my input matters in such a vast country?". 

These little additions have brought us to the state we are today. This increase in pollution does indicate that we are expanding our manufacturing and production, but it also means that we are still using the old and inefficient technology for our cause. The people and the government have been quick to realise the problem (or actually breathing the polluted air have finally made them realise it) and the government is trying to control the situation before it becomes irreversible (still the public at large don't do much, after all, Indians don't take much responsibility for anything and blame everything on government). India currently has the fastest growing solar power industry. The government has also subsidised LEDs and updated the vehicular emission standards. I cannot say much about the public because people actually rushed to buy the BS III standard bikes the day they were sold at puny prices by manufactures because they were declared illegal on road in 2017!.

I hope you got the idea about the transition I am talking about. I wish that the people too will devote to the cause and help us change the face of India into a cleaner and more progressive country. Let's not make pollution a cause for people dying in future or fleeing the country.

Kindly share your views on the topic.