On World Environment Day 2025, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) launched a nationwide digital application for profiling waste pickers under the expanded NAMASTE Scheme.
This initiative aims to formalize the vital role of waste pickers in India’s circular economy, offering them official recognition, social protection, skill development, and collective empowerment.
The expanded NAMASTE Scheme now targets enumerating 2.5 lakh waste pickers, providing them with occupational photo ID cards, health insurance under Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY), PPE kits, skilling opportunities, and access to capital subsidies.
The scheme also aims to strengthen Waste Picker Collectives to manage 750 Dry Waste Collection Centers (DWCCs), fostering safer working conditions and long-term livelihood security.
This strategic move reaffirms the government’s commitment to environmental justice and worker dignity, celebrating the significant contribution of waste pickers in combating plastic pollution.
The NAMASTE scheme, a joint effort by MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), initially focused on sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs). Since its expansion to include waste pickers in June 2024, the scheme has already enumerated over 80,000 SSWs, distributed more than 26,000 Ayushman Bharat health cards, and provided over 45,000 PPE kits.
