changeadminOn the occasion of World Environment Day 2025, India’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) launched a nationwide digital application, the Waste Picker Enumeration App, for profiling Waste Pickers under the NAMASTE Scheme in New Delhi.
The National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme launched in July 2023 to ensure the safety and dignity of sanitation workers.
The scheme is jointly implemented by MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), with government-owned National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC) being the implementation agency for sewer and septic tank workers.
With the inclusion of Waste Pickers, NAMASTE now aims to enumerate 2.5 lakh individuals, offering them formal identity, social protection, skill development, and collective empowerment.
This historic step formally recognises waste pickers as critical actors in India’s circular economy and aims to provide them with safer working conditions, better access to entitlements, and long-term livelihood security.
The expanded NAMASTE Scheme seeks to profile:
- Issue occupational photo ID cards to Waste Pickers
- Provide health insurance under Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY)
- Deliver PPE kits, skilling, and access to capital subsidies
- Strengthen Waste Picker Collectives to manage 750 Dry Waste Collection Centres (DWCCs)
Since its implementation, the NAMASTE scheme has successfully enumerated and validated over 80,000 septic tank workers, facilitated the distribution of 26,447 Ayushman Bharat health cards, and delivered over 45,781 PPE kits.
By recognising and integrating Waste Pickers into formal urban systems, the Government of India takes a step toward building a more inclusive, equitable, and environmentally resilient sanitation ecosystem.
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