Thank you for posting this.
As an exercise, I request folks to compare the 2017, 2018, and 2019 averages for each city (from the above chart itself). For most cities, 2019 is lower or even way lower than 2018 or 2017. The remaining 3 cities are missing data, so there's no way to tell. 2019 is pre-COVID, so it is not a lockdown effect.
What I find funny is that the 2020 averages seem to be higher all across, despite the lockdown. Something odd there.
Having noted the above, I would like to list out the measures already taken (and implemented) by the Modi govt. to address this.
1. Implementation of BS-VI norms 4 years ahead of schedule, directly from BS-IV, skipping BS-V entirely.
2. Forcing all manufacturers of vehicles to comply with BS-VI from the get go, with no grace period over which already manufactured BS-IV vehicles could continue to be sold (basically, all unsold BS-IV compliant vehicles were *scrapped* outright).
3. Forcing fuel manufacturers to comply with BS-VI norms, currently, despite COVID, BS-VI rollout, both vehicle- and fuel-wise, is complete.
4. Announcement of a scrappage policy for existing (already sold) BS-IV vehicles on the road. This incentivizes consumers to buy newer BS-VI vehicles, scrapping old polluting ones.
5. Electric vehicle policy - especially 2- and 3- wheelers, which are the most polluting segment, and also buses and trucks.
6. Cleaning up the power grid, India is already at 35% renewable component in power production, heading for 40%.
7. Attempts to ban stubble burning, except that Punjab and Haryana have no intentions of cooperating on that one.
Can the Modi govt. do better? Suggestions welcome.
Oh yeah, and then, there was Kejri's odd-even policy....
EDIT: I would also like to point out that in 2017, all 7 Indian cities for which there is data, were worse than that one Chinese city. In 2018, 4 out of 8 Indian cities for which there is data, were worse than that Chinese city. In 2019, the Chinese city has moved to #2 slot, and all the listed Indian cities, except Ghaziabad, are below. In 2020, the Chinese city is #1 unambiguously. Sounds like good news to me.