

As the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement swept the nation, India uncovered its path to a cleaner, more sustainable future.
In line with India's declaration in the Paris Accord, the next stride in this direction aims to overstep waste & pollution management, transforming these menaces into productive avenues of energy and growth.
The Waste to Wealth Mission, set up under the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council, is an initiative by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India (the O/o PSA) that will leverage global technological capabilities to create socio-economic benefits for 1.3 billion Indians by addressing the issues of waste disposal, deteriorating air quality and increasing pollution of water bodies. The mission is spearheaded by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), Government of India.
To help achieve India’s commitments to United Nations - Sustainable Development Goals, the Office of the PSA has established a 'Project Management Unit' (PMU) in partnership with Invest India, India’s National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency.
The mission aims to identify, test, Validate and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract resources of value and provide technology database of national and international technologies to support Urban Local Bodies address their waste challenges.
The mission will assist and augment the Swachh Bharat and Smart Cities projects by leveraging science, technology, and innovation to create circular economic models that are financially viable and sustainable for waste management to streamline waste handling in the country.
India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country by 2027 and by 2050, India’s urban population will nearly double to reach 814 million.
Waste generation in urban areas of India will be 0.7 kg per person per day in 2025, approximately four to six times higher than in 1999. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India currently generates 62 million tons of waste (both recyclable and non–recyclable) every year, with an average annual growth rate of 4%. Solid waste, plastic waste and E-waste are the principal waste materials.
Air Pollution in India is also a serious health issue. Of the most polluted cities in the world, 22 out of 30 were in India in 2018. As per a study based on 2016 data, at least 140 million people in India breathe air that is 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit.
To promote and support the goals of the Swachh Bharat Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016, Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016 and the E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 have been notified.
In addition to providing a conducive policy framework and promoting responsible behavior, technological advancement is an important factor that can drive effective waste management in India. The use of emerging technologies such as automatic waste segregator, Onsite waste processing like Composting/Biomethanation/Bio CNG, gasifiers/pyrolysis, etc can transform the current waste management scenario in India
Explore More: https://www.wastetowealth.gov.in/policies
The use of emerging technologies such as automatic waste segregation, gasifier, and pyrolysis units demonstrates a method to manage waste in India. The way forward must include practices that generate a circular economy in the waste management sector.
In addition to providing a conducive policy framework and promoting responsible behavior, technological advancement is an important factor that can drive effective waste management in India. The use of emerging technologies such as automatic waste segregator, Onsite waste processing like Composting/Biomethanation/Bio CNG, gasifiers/pyrolysis, etc can transform the current waste management scenario in India.
The government of India has undertaken multiple large-scale national initiatives such as ‘Swachh Bharat Mission, ‘National Water Mission’ and ‘Waste to Wealth Mission” as a part of its commitment to effective waste & pollution management in India.
Emphasis has also been laid on the approach of setting up Decentralised Waste processing sites within Cities to cater to problems of fresh MSW and legacy waste management.
In continuation of the Swachh Bharat Mission objective, The Waste to Wealth Mission has deployed a decentralized waste Processing technology park. This park includes technologies that segregate fresh Municipal solid waste. This segregated waste is used as feedstock for the gasifier and pyrolysis units to generate energy. The park also includes a drain cleaner unit that collects debris from an adjacent drain on-site. This collected waste is also used as feedstock. A wastewater treatment unit is also on site. This unit treats effluent from the adjacent drain. The water is then reused on site.
The Waste to Wealth Mission is also looking at deployments related to cleaning and restoring water bodies, managing e-waste, agricultural waste, bio-medical waste, etc.
Agri-waste to Biocoal Pilot Plant at Mohali, Punjab
Babarpur and Gokulpuri Drain Project,
East Delhi
Waste Mining & Land Recovery of the
Ghazipur Dump Site, East Delhi