The Story Behind AQI on the CARS24 App

In 2013, I landed in Delhi the day after Diwali, en route to Canada for a conference. The city was drowning in toxic smog—it was hard to breathe. Back then, there was no firecracker ban, no AQI awareness, and frankly, no one cared. Life carried on, even as we choked.

Fast forward to 2015, I moved to Gurgaon to start my CARS24 journey. That’s when the reality of air pollution hit me. Winters brought seasonal shortness of breath, and a doctor diagnosed me with early asthma. She casually mentioned how she regretted moving to NCR because of the air. It stuck with me.

Every year, it got worse. Smog from stubble burning, vehicles, factories, and stagnant air made NCR unbreathable. A study published sometime ago says around 1.5 million deaths between 2009-2019 linked to air pollution in India. What shocked me was how we just accepted it. We obsess over ROs to purify water but don’t think twice about the polluted air we breathe all day.

At home, I took steps—air purifiers in every room, monitoring AQI, and ensuring the kids wore masks when stepping out. But it felt limited, like I was only protecting my family.

Last year, I decided enough was enough. As a founder, I had the platform to do more. We installed air purifiers across our Gurgaon office and set up AQI monitors to show the air quality inside and outside.

The results were eye-opening. Many colleagues started installing purifiers at home. That’s when it clicked—awareness drives action.

But how could we take this awareness to our millions of customers? Simple: make AQI visible. We added AQI data to the CARS24 app homepage. Just like you check the weather to decide what to wear, knowing AQI helps you decide if you need a mask, if your kids can play outside, or if carpooling is a better choice today.

This aligns perfectly with our vision: “Better drives, better lives.” It’s about driving real change, one small step at a time.

This is just the start. We’re working on more initiatives to help our users live better, healthier lives. Stay tuned—there’s more to come.