Ex-Xiaomi India Chief Leaves Delhi Early Due To Severe Pollution: 'I Was Forced'

Delhi's severe air pollution crisis is affecting all residents and visitors, with common symptoms including headaches, coughing, and sore throats. Manu Kumar Jain, the former Xiaomi India chief and current CEO of tech group G42, experienced this firsthand during a recent short visit to the national capital. He shared an in-flight photo of himself wearing a mask, noting how the city's poor air quality impacted him within mere hours of his arrival

"Was in Delhi for a day for some important meetings, and realised how out of practice I am with the air pollution here. Within a few hours my eyes were watering, throat was burning, I kept coughing and even had a mild headache (I forgot my N95 mask, and hence the impact was even higher)," wrote Jain on X (formerly Twitter).

Jain said the city's current situation hit him harder, as he grew up in Meerut, studied at IIT Delhi, and fell in love with the place, its energy, food and people.

"I was forced to take an earlier flight back. Experiences like this are a reminder that we still have a long way to go on air quality," Jain said, adding that he wasn't blaming anyone in particular.

"All of us are to be blamed for this. But I sincerely hope we can turn this around and make a real change for our kids - so that they can grow up breathing cleaner air."

Check The Viral Post Here:

Was in #Delhi for a day for some important meetings, and realised how out of practice I am with the air pollution here. Within a few hours my eyes were watering, throat was burning, I kept coughing and even had a mild headache (I forgot my N95 mask, and hence the impact was even… pic.twitter.com/GTzszgRMEH

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) November 20, 2025

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'Imagine What Happens To A Child'

As the post went viral, garnering hundreds of comments, social media users agreed with Jain's assessment whilst questioning the authorities for not being proactive.

"If a healthy adult can't last a few hours, imagine what this does to a child who breathes Delhi's air every single day," said one user, while another added: "This was exactly my experience last weekend. It is bad in Delhi."

A third commented: "I came back to India from Australia and this morning I went for walk outside and within 20 minutes i was back in my car because my throat was hurting. Love of my family brought me here, but I think it's time to rethink and take my loved ones outside India with me."

A fourth said: "We can't do anything because we, including our governments, are not good enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Nothing substantial is ever gonna happen."

Delhi Pollution Crisis

Under GRAP-3 restrictions, which are already in place in Delhi, several pollution-control steps have been activated, including a ban on construction activities and water spraying on major road stretches.

Schools in Delhi have shifted primary classes to hybrid mode as a precautionary measure amid the persistently dangerous air quality.