CONTEXT

• Observed annually on June 5, World Environment Day promotes awareness and action for environmental protection.
• In 2025, India reaffirmed its dual commitment to environmental justice and worker dignity, focusing on the marginalized sanitation workforce.
• Waste Pickers, often informal workers, play a vital but unrecognized role in managing plastic waste and enabling circular economy efforts.

CONCEPT: NAMASTE Scheme & Waste Picker Integration

• NAMASTE (National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem) is a Central Sector Scheme by MoSJE and MoHUA.
• Initially aimed at supporting Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs); mandate expanded in June 2024 to include Waste Pickers.
• Core goals:
  • Mechanize sanitation work
  • Ensure safety, dignity, and inclusion of sanitation workers
  • Enable access to social security, skilling, and livelihood support

CURRENT

• On June 5, 2025, MoSJE launched the Waste Picker Enumeration App in New Delhi.
• Purpose: Digitally profile 2.5 lakh Waste Pickers under NAMASTE for better inclusion and targeted welfare.
• Benefits of profiling:
  •  Occupational photo ID cards
  • Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) health insurance
  • PPE kits and safety equipment
  •  Skill development and capital subsidies
  •  Strengthening Waste Picker Collectives to manage 750 DWCCs (Dry Waste Collection Centres)

Knowledge Products Released

1. Resource Guide: Mainstreaming Waste Picker Collectives as Service Delivery Partners
2. Report: Charting Change: Socio-Economic Insights into India’s Sanitation Workforce (2023–25)

Achievements till May 29, 2025

•  80,000+ SSWs enumerated and validated
• 26,447 Ayushman Bharat cards distributed
• 45,781 PPE kits provided
• 354 Emergency Response Safety Kits issued