Abstract. In this study we undertook quantitative source apportionment for 32 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) measured at a suburban site in the densely populated North-West Indo–Gangetic Plain using the US EPA PMF 5.0 Model. Six sources were resolved by the PMF model namely biofuel use and waste disposal, wheat-residue burning, industrial emissions and solvent use, cars, two-wheelers and mixed daytime sources. The biofuel and waste disposal, wheat residue burning, industrial emissions and solvent use, combined traffic sources, mixed daytime sources accounted for 23.2 %, 22.4 %, 11.8 %, 25.1 %, and 15.7 % of the total VOC mass concentration respectively; 18.1 %, 32.4 %, 7.3 %, 21.9 %, and 20.3 % of the total O3 formation potential respectively; and 14.9 %, 13.9 %, 10.1 %, 59.0 %, and 2.2 % of the SOA formation potential, respectively. Further the factors contributed 24.6 %, 8.5 %, 20.1 %, 46.8 %, and 0 %, respectively, to the human class I carcinogen benzene and 18.4 %, 25.4 %, 5.9 %, 13.3 %, and 36.9 %, respectively, to the toxic emerging contaminant isocyanic acid. Evaluation of emission inventories using the in-situ data derived PMF solution revealed that among EDGARv4.2, REASv2.1 and GAINSv5.0, the GAINSv5.0 emission inventory for year 2010, best agreed with the in-situ data derived PMF results for May 2012.