NEWS – Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Mission Amrit as the next step of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The announcement was made on the 10th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat campaign, highlighting new urban sanitation and water initiatives.

KEY FEATURES OF MISSION AMRIT

Urban Water and Sewage Systems

• Mission Amrit will focus on enhancing water and sewage treatment in multiple cities.
• Rs 6,800 crore will be allocated under Amrit and Amrit 2.0 to improve urban water and sewage systems.

Projects for Water Quality and Waste Management

• National Mission for Clean Ganga: New projects were launched to improve water quality in the Ganga basin.
  • Investment: Rs 1,500 crore.
• GOBARdhan Scheme: 15 new Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants will be set up with an investment of Rs 1,332 crore.

Sewa Pakhwada and Public Participation

• Over 28 crore people participated in 27 lakh events during the Sewa Pakhwada campaign.
• The PM highlighted that mass participation is turning the cleanliness drive into a path to prosperity.

Impact of Swachh Bharat Mission

• The World Health Organisation credited the mission with saving 3,00,000 lives between 2014 and 2019 by reducing deaths from diarrhoea.

Clean-Tech and New Opportunities

• About 5,000 clean-tech start-ups have been registered in India.
• New opportunities are emerging in the water and sanitation sector, such as:
  • Waste-to-wealth initiatives.
  • Waste collection and transportation.
  • Water reuse and recycling projects.