With New Delhi recording dangerous AQI levels, the US Embassy has floated a tender for 1,200 boxes of True HEPA filter sets for its Blueair air purifiers.
With Delhi NCR recording some of the worst air quality levels of the season, the US Embassy in New Delhi has floated a solicitation for supplying 1,200 boxes of True HEPA filter sets for Blueair 500 and 600 Series purifiers.
Delhi-NCR’s air quality has deteriorated sharply through November 2025, with the city repeatedly slipping into the severe and hazardous categories on multiple days. Against this backdrop, the US Embassy in New Delhi has initiated a major procurement exercise to secure 1,200 boxes of True HEPA Particle Filters for its extensive network of Blueair air purifiers.
The US Embassy in New Delhi uses Blueair air purifiers. While the exact models are not announced, the information in the tender refers to Blueair’s older large-room purifier lineup. It includes models like Blueair 501, Blueair 503, Blueair 510, Blueair 601, Blueair 603 and Blueair 650E. All of them use the same shape and size of filter. The Model-503 is one of Blueair’s most common large-room HEPA purifiers.
The tender request has been issued under Solicitation Number 191N6526Q0002 seeks “competitive proposals” from suppliers for filters compatible with the Blueair 503 model and the broader 500 and 600 Series range. According to the pricing sheet on page 2 of the solicitation, the requirement specifically calls for “True Hepa Particle Filter, (Set of 3), 500/600 Series for Blueair Purifier, Model 503, BLF-500PA” with a total quantity of 1200 boxes .
The procurement document sets a deadline of 30 November 2025 at 2:00 PM for all offers. The tender was floated on 18 November 2025.
While the embassy does not explicitly state the number of purifiers in operation, the scale of the order suggests a wide deployment of Blueair units across embassy buildings, consular sections, residential compounds, and staff facilities. A single box contains a complete set of three filters required for one purifier, which indicates that the mission may be supporting hundreds to more than a thousand air purifying units to counter the sustained exposure to Delhi’s pollution.
Given the recurring winter smog patterns in Delhi, the embassy’s move reflects the growing need for continuous filter replacement cycles. High particulate concentrations cause HEPA filters to saturate far more quickly than their normal life expectancy. With the city’s AQI pushing beyond 400 at times, government offices, corporates, schools, and foreign missions all rely heavily on premium air purifying systems to maintain indoor air safety.
The first time the scale of the US Embassy’s air purifier deployment became public was in 2015, when the mission purchased more than 1,800 units ahead of former US President Barack Obama’s visit for India’s 66th Republic Day. That procurement marked the earliest confirmed instance of the embassy operating such a large fleet of purifiers in New Delhi’s toxic winter air.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
