The awareness of Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) is growing in India, and with new infrastructure on the rise, it has become imperative to address the interrelated issues of IEQ, ventilation, human health and productivity. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a prime area of concern; coupled with effi cient lighting, adequate thermal comfort and manageable acoustics, it determines the health and productivity of the urban population. Asian Conference on Indoor Environmental Quality (ACIEQ) was held on February 1 and 2 in New Delhi. It was organized by ISHRAE, Society for Indoor  Environment (SIE) and Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) together with IITDelhi. It was the fi rst time in India that an international conference on IEQ was organized. It was an initiative to reach out and share resources towards better indoor environment.

The conference theme was ‘Habitable Built Environment – Experience the Unseen’. It brought together experts from all over the world with sessions covering the holistic aspects of IAQ, thermal comfort, lighting and acoustics impacting the indoor environments. The event was attended by a diverse audience of IEQ experts, researchers,
academicians and industry professionals from across India and abroad. The conference included a range of keynote speakers from Cornell University (USA), University of Milan (Italy) and University of Sydney (Australia), amongst others. The sub themes for the conference revolved around indoor air quality in urban settings, adaptive thermal comfort and occupants’ performance and behavior studies.

The Chief Guest for the conference was Dr. Shruti Rai Bharadwaj, Additional Director, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Director, National Environment and Engineering Research Institute (Nagpur), Dr. Prashant Gargava, Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (Delhi), Prof. Prasad Modak, President (SIE) and Founder Director, Environmental Management Centre (Mumbai), Dr. K. S. Baghotia, Additional Director (DGHS), Government of NCT of Delhi, C.Subramaniam, National President, ISHRAE and Richie Mittal, Director (IAQA) were present at the inaugural session. More than 60 technical research papers were presented in the two day conference, with attendees from various parts of the globe. A dynamic group of students from Institute of Home Economics (IHE), Delhi University
enthralled the audience with their street play reflecting the relevance of indoor environment in India.

The conference closed on a positive note, and announcement of the next edition of ACIEQ to be held on February 5 and 6, 2021.