On Energy and Buildings
• Analysis of thermal comfort and embodied emissions in Karnataka’s affordable housing segment to inform low-carbon building design and practices—in collaboration with government departments (RGHCL and PWD)
CSTEP held an event in December on Advancing Sustainable Buildings in Karnataka, where we launched the report ‘Applying a life cycle lens to India’s buildings sector: A reflection on decarbonisation gaps and stakeholder roles’. The report includes insights from discussions with various experts in the built environment ecosystem.
We also signed two MoUs with the Government of Karnataka on supporting sustainable built environments in the public sector. In particular, we will work with the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited (RGHCL) to analyse the thermal comfort impacts of their affordable housing projects, conduct life cycle analyses, and provide recommendations to reduce the embodied and operational carbon in these homes, with a focus on maintaining thermal comfort. In addition, we will work with the Karnataka Rajya Nirmana Kendra (KARNIK), Government of Karnataka, to support Nirmithi Kendras across the state in promoting sustainable construction practices through data sharing, dashboard creation, and outreach.
• Preparing the Energy and Buildings chapter of Bengaluru’s Ward Climate Action Plan (WCAP for 10 wards), being led by the Bengaluru Climate Action Cell
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and municipal corporations have generated strong momentum in finalising the Ward Climate Action Plans (WCAP - Bengaluru) for five pilot wards. CSTEP, as an active member of the working group, has been consistently engaged throughout this collaborative development process. This has involved ward recces, identifying issues and solutions, performing analyses, providing recommendations, and conducting consultations with multiple stakeholders (including citizen groups).
On Water
• Status of water in India: First draft
CSTEP has comprehensively mapped the stakeholder ecosystem across the country along multiple intervention areas and bio-geographies. The ecosystem map is being converted to a GIS-based map to interactively visualise the nationwide organisation. We are also conducting a policy mapping exercise, wherein 67 national policies, schemes, programmes, and services have been coded along thematic and financial lenses. Currently, the policies are being analysed through a climate–water–energy–food nexus lens.
• Climate risk-based urban planning and decision support tool for Dibrugarh and Silchar towns in Assam, with support from Janagraha
We conducted site visits to Dibrugarh and Silchar. The decision-support tool pitch was socialised and well-received by state officials. An MoU agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (DoHUA) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) is scheduled to be completed in February.
• Site-specific instrumentation and data collection initiated in select states with Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) and Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs for groundwater recharge layers preparation
CSTEP has signed an MoU with FES. CSTEP and FES will co-develop knowledge on building tools for the conservation of commons across the country. We visited sites near Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, for a recce of its spring sheds. This followed a detailed discussion with the Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh to understand their needs regarding spring shed management. At present, discussions are ongoing with the Forest Department to map 500 springs in the state. Additionally, a project proposal is being prepared to develop a decision-support tool for spring shed management in Himachal Pradesh, along the lines of the Composite Landscape Assessment and Restoration Tool (CLART) developed by FES.
On Air Quality
• Releasing an open-source, publicly accessible version of AQ-DMS and exploring options to scale and federate distributed AQDMS with partners
The AQ-DMS project will be made available as a public GitHub repository under the Apache License 2.0 (on 2 February 2026). More details will be provided in the next update. The setup is also used to scale for AirLab multi-country/institutional sensor comparison.
• Planning and developing modelling setups to develop an urban sensor network
CSTEP is testing a nested air quality modelling domain setup for southern India. The highest resolution setup (1 km) will be used for the urban sensor work.
• Developing a multi-model air pollution control and scenario tool
We launched the PAVITRA dashboard tool in January 2026 for public testing. Additional regions (Bengaluru Urban district, GBA boundaries, and five GBA zones) have been added to the PAVITRA dashboard, and the emission inventory is updated to 2025. Similar regions will be added to the REACH dashboard. Multi-model dashboard structure and integration planning would start from mid-February.
• Additional update: CSTEP also published a Guidance Document for Evaluating the Performance and Use of AQ Sensors for Construction Dust (PM10) Monitoring. It draws on a year-long evaluation of six low-cost PM sensor models at CSTEP’s Indi-SET facility—the first of its kind in India—to support effective air quality monitoring at construction sites.