Ex-Xiaomi India head forced to cut Delhi trip short amid pollution, had watery eyes and burning throat

Delhi’s hazardous winter pollution drew renewed concern this week after Manu Kumar Jain, former head of Xiaomi India and now chief executive of the Abu Dhabi–based technology group G42, described how a short visit to the capital left him struggling with acute irritation linked to the city’s deteriorating air quality.

Jain posted an image of himself on a flight wearing a face mask and said he had been compelled to return earlier than scheduled because of the physical discomfort he experienced soon after arriving.

Writing on X, he stated: “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, my throat was burning, I kept coughing and even had a mild headache. I forgot my N95 mask, and hence the impact was even higher.”

He added that he had to abandon his original travel plans: “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 noted that although he had spent his childhood in Meerut and completed his studies at IIT Delhi — a city he said he “fell in love with” — the conditions during this visit affected him more severely. Emphasising that responsibility was shared, he said he was not attributing the problem to any single agency or group of people. As he wrote: “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.”