•Recent government data as part of the NAMASTE scheme, from over 3,000 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), reveals that 92% of the 38,000 manual scavengers and workers involved in hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning across India’s cities belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), or other backward class (OBC) communities.
•Union Budget 2023-2024 has allocated nearly Rs 100 crore for the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) and the government is looking to enable 100% mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers in all cities and towns
•NAMASTE Scheme was launched in 2022 undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE)
•It aims to achieve zero fatalities in sanitation work in India with no sanitation workers coming in direct contact with human faecal matter, and collectivization of sanitation workers into Self Help Groups (SHGs).