New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar Friday launched the National Air Quality Index (AQI), an initiative to help the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity.

Javadekar said the formulation of the index was a continuation of the initiatives under the Swachh Bharat Mission envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The index constituted part of the government's mission to introduce the culture of cleanliness.

"Institutional and infrastructural measures were being undertaken in order to ensure that the mandate of cleanliness was fulfilled across the country," he said.

Under the new measurement process, an effort had been made to include a comprehensive set of parameters, the minister added.

He said traditionally, air quality status has been reported through voluminous data.

"It was important that information on air quality is put up in public domain in simple linguistic terms that is easily understood by a common person. AQI is one such tool for effective dissemination of air quality information to people," Javadekar said.

The AQI scheme was recommended by IIT Kanpur and an expert group comprising medical professionals, air quality experts, academia and advocacy groups.