Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 is being observed from 17 September to 17 October 2026 under the theme 'Swachhata Mein Sahbhag, Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat'. Government departments and organisations are running cleanliness, awareness and welfare activities, several of them alongside Special Campaign 6.
The main welfare component for sanitation workers is the SafaiMitra Suraksha Evam Samman Shivir, organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi. Its theme is 'Samman Safai Mitron Ka, Sankalp Swachh Bharat Ka'.
The Shivir was held in hybrid mode. The physical event took place at Kedarnath Sahni Auditorium, Dr. S.P.M. Civic Centre, while Urban Local Bodies, Rural Local Bodies and line departments across the country joined virtually. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was Chief Guest, and Union Minister Dr Virendra Kumar attended.
It works as a single-window platform for sanitation workers and their families. Local bodies are conducting preventive health check-ups and screening for SafaiMitras and their dependents, and distributing and demonstrating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and safety devices.
A film on the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme is being screened to explain its objectives and its focus on the safety, dignity, welfare and social security of sanitation workers. The Shivir also facilitates distribution of NAMASTE ID Cards to validated waste pickers.
Eligible workers and families are helped to access Central and State schemes covering housing, tap water, sanitation, electricity, LPG, health, insurance, immunisation, financial inclusion and livelihood support. These include PMAY, AMRUT, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ayushman Bharat/PM-JAY, PM Ujjwala Yojana, Swachhata Udyami Yojana and PM Jan Dhan Yojana, subject to eligibility. SafaiMitras are also being felicitated, and participants take the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan pledge for a drug-free society.
The Department of Legal Affairs held a workshop on e-waste management on 28 September 2026 at Kartavya Bhavan-2, New Delhi. Participants were informed about segregation, safe collection, responsible disposal and recycling, and were introduced to the 3R approach (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).
The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) began with a pledge ceremony on 17 September 2026. CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh, held a session on the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026 for housekeeping and horticulture staff, demonstrating four-way segregation at source and urging a shift from 'Collect and Dump' to 'Segregate, Process and Recover'. A health camp at the CSIR-CIMAP Dispensary, Lucknow, on 26 September gave around 50 sanitation workers medical check-ups.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, with the Indian Red Cross Society, organised a blood donation camp at Sankalp Bhawan on 29 September 2026, where 76 officers and staff donated.
The Ministry of Textiles held an essay competition on 25 September 2026, and its bodies ran field activities. The Jute Corporation of India cleaned sports grounds, school playgrounds, a riverbank after Ganesh Visarjan and a temple in Dakshin Dinajpur. The Textiles Committee ran a nationwide Shramdaan drive and a 'Waste to Art' workshop on 24 September 2026. The National Handloom Development Corporation's Managing Director planted a tree under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' on 28 September 2026.
The Swachh Bharat Mission, launched on 2 October 2014, has two components: SBM-Grameen, covering rural sanitation, toilet use and solid and liquid waste management, and SBM-Urban, covering urban sanitation, waste management and public spaces. Its challenge has moved from building infrastructure to sustaining behavioural change. The campaign presents cleanliness as a long Indian tradition, citing planned Indus Valley cities such as Lothal, with drainage networks and private toilets.
Mass gatherings show the approach in practice. At Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj, over 28,000 toilets, 20,000 community urinals and 20,000 trash bins for source segregation were set up, and the grounds were plastic-free. For the Kanwar Yatra in Delhi, additional sanitation workers, round-the-clock sweeping and temporary toilets were arranged, and more than 5 lakh devotees received steel Ganga-water containers and jute bags.
The Amarnath Yatra 2025, with over four lakh pilgrims, was aligned with SBM-U 2.0 for a zero-landfill Yatra. About 11.67 metric tonnes of waste were fully processed daily, with 1,016 twin-bin stations and around 1,300 SafaiMitras.
In Hyderabad, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation began Project Udvasana for dedicated collection and processing of temple waste, piloted at the ISKCON Temple, Jubilee Hills. Collection rose from 66 kg to 443 kg and then 753.59 kg across six temples.
With reference to the SafaiMitra Suraksha Evam Samman Shivir held during Swachhata Hi Seva 2026, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Organisation : Activity during Swachhata Hi Seva 2026
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Identify the initiative on the basis of the following information:
