(THE GIST OF PIB) NAMASTE Scheme

(FEBRUARY-2025)

Recently, the union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (SJ&E) distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and Ayushman health cards to Sewer and Septic Tank Workers under the flagship scheme of National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE).

The objective of the “National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem” (NAMASTE) scheme is to formalize and institutionalize the persons engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and promoting safe and mechanized cleaning through trained sanitation workers.
It is jointly supervised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Implementing agency: It is implemented by the National Safai Karmacharis Finance Development Corporation (NSKFDC) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE).
Duration: It would be implemented for three years from FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26.
Target Groups: Sewer and septic tank sanitation workers (SSWs) and waste pickers in urban areas of India

Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India
All sanitation work is performed by skilled workers
No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human fecal matter
Sanitation workers are collectivized into SHGs and are empowered to run sanitation enterprises
All Sewer and Septic tank sanitation workers (SSWs) have access to alternative livelihoods