**Summary:**
On July 17, 2025, the President of India presented Swachh Survekshan awards at a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs function in New Delhi. The President highlighted Swachh Survekshan as a successful initiative in evaluating and promoting urban cleanliness efforts. She noted the extensive participation in the 2024 survey, involving state governments, urban bodies, and approximately 14 crore citizens. The President emphasized the historical and cultural importance of cleanliness in India, referencing Mahatma Gandhi's teachings and her own early public service work focused on sanitation. She drew a parallel between traditional lifestyles, particularly those of tribal communities, and the principles of a circular economy, advocating for reduced resource consumption and waste. The President stressed the importance of source segregation in waste management and commended zero-waste initiatives and school-level assessments promoting cleanliness as a core value. She acknowledged the challenge of managing plastic and electronic waste, highlighting the 2022 ban on single-use plastics and the Extended Producer Responsibility guidelines. The President urged all stakeholders to fully comply with these guidelines. The President expressed confidence that collective dedication to the Swachh Bharat Mission will make India one of the cleanest countries by 2047.
Key Entities Referenced
Droupadi Murmu: The President of India who presented the Swachh Survekshan Awards.
Swachh Survekshan: An awards program assessing and encouraging cities' efforts towards cleanliness.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The Indian government ministry that organized the Swachh Survekshan awards function and conducted the cleanliness survey.
New Delhi: The location in India where the Swachh Survekshan awards were presented.
Mahatma Gandhi: Father of the Nation, whose views on cleanliness were mentioned in the speech.
Swachh Bharat Mission: A nationwide campaign on cleanliness.
Extended Producer Responsibility: Guidelines for plastic packaging issued by the government.
School Level Assessment: Initiative started with the objective that students adopt cleanliness as a life value.
President's Secretariat
PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTS SWACHH
SURVEKSHAN AWARDS
MODERN SYSTEMS OF CIRCULARITY COULD BE
STRENGTHENED BY LEARNING FROM
TRADITIONAL LIFESTYLE: PRESIDENT MURMU
Posted On: 17 JUL 2025 1:58PM by PIB Delhi
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, presented Swachh Survekshan awards at a function organized
by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in New Delhi today (July 17, 2025).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Swachh Survekshan has proven to be a successful
experiment in assessing and encouraging the efforts made by our cities towards cleanliness. She was pleased
to note that the world's largest cleanliness survey was conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs for the year 2024, with participation from various stakeholders, state governments, urban bodies, and
approximately 14 crore citizens.
The President said that our cultural and spiritual consciousness has emphasized cleanliness since ancient
times. The tradition of keeping our homes, places of worship, and the surroundings clean was an integral part
of our lifestyle. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi used to say, "Cleanliness is next to godliness”. He
considered cleanliness as the cornerstone of religion, spirituality, and civic life. She said that she had started
her journey of public service with work related to cleanliness. As the Vice President of the Notified Area
Council, she used to visit wards every day and supervise the cleanliness work.
The President said that minimizing wastage by using minimum resources and re-using them for same purpose
or other purpose, has always been the part of our lifestyle. The basic principles of circular economy and
systems of reduce-reuse-recycle are modern and widespread forms of our ancient lifestyle. For example, the
traditional lifestyle of tribal communities is simple. They use less resources and stay in harmony with the
weather and environment, and in partnership with other community members. They do not waste natural
resources. The modern systems of circularity could be strengthened by adopting such behaviour and
traditions.
The President said that the first and most important step in the waste management value chain is source
segregation. All stakeholders and every household need to pay utmost attention to this step. Zero-waste
colonies are setting good examples.
The President appreciated the School Level Assessment initiative, started with the objective that students
adopt cleanliness as a life value. She said that it would have very beneficial and far-reaching results.
The President said that controlling plastic and electronic waste and preventing pollution caused by them is a
big challenge. With proper efforts, we can reduce the country's plastic emissions significantly. The central
government banned some items containing single-use plastic in the year 2022. In the same year, the
government issued guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging. It is the
responsibility of all stakeholders, including producers, brand owners, and importers, to ensure that these
guidelines are fully followed.
The President said that efforts related to cleanliness have economic aspects, cultural dimensions, and
geographical aspects. She expressed confidence that all citizens would participate in the Swachh BharatMission with full dedication. She said that with well-thought-out and strong resolutions, the developed India
by the year 2047 will be one of the cleanest countries in the world.Click here to see the President's speech
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MJPS/SR/SKS
(Release ID: 2145459)