Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26: Key Highlights, Winners & New Categories

Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26: Key Highlights, Winners & New Categories 

General Studies Paper II: International Relations, Groupings & Agreements Involving India

Why in News? 

Recently, President Droupadi Murmu presented the 10th Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26 in New Delhi, recognising urban cleanliness excellence.

Highlights of Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26

• Ceremony: The 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26 was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 11 November 2026.
  • The ceremony recognised outstanding contributions by urban local bodies (ULBs), sanitation workers and citizens.
• Dignitaries: President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards in the presence of Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu. 
• Theme: This year’s theme was ‘Swachhata Ki Nayi Pehel – Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath’ (New Initiative for Cleanliness – Extend Your Hands, Clean Together).
  • It emphasised collective responsibility, behavioural change, public participation and sustainable urban sanitation.
• Host: The award ceremony was hosted by the Department of Urban Development (DoUD) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• Participation: The survey expanded from 73 cities in 2016 to 4,751 cities.
  • It was conducted under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.
  • Over 3,000 GPS-monitored assessors conducted field evaluations, capturing 2.70 crore citizen feedbacks.
  • More than 350 ULBs improved their rankings by over 500 positions, while 1,700-plus smaller ULBs with populations below 50,000 improved their positions compared with 2024–25.
• Super Swachh League Winners: In the prestigious Super Swachh League, Navi Mumbai clinched Rank 1, ending Indore’s eight-year streak, followed by Surat (2nd) and Vijayawada (3rd). 
• Population Category: 
• Swachh Shehar rankings were divided into five population tiers:
  • In Million Plus cities (over 10 lakh), GVMC Visakhapatnam, Jabalpur, and Lucknow are top three. 
  • Ujjain, Chandigarh, and Guntur topped the 3–10 lakh tier. 
  • Dewas, New Delhi (NDMC), and Sagar won the 50,000–3 lakh tier, and Vita (Maharashtra), Aska (Odisha), and Panaji led the 20,000–50,000 tier.
• New Award Categories: For the first time, dedicated recognition was introduced for Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ), Swachh River Front Towns, Swachh Coastal Towns and Clean Himalayan Cities:
  • The Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) category paired 70 mentor cities with 191 mentee cities.
    • Top pairs were Ahmedabad–Sanand (1st), Indore–Depalpur (2nd), and Tirupati–Kuppam (3rd). 
  • New ecological awards honored Rewa, Bilaspur, and Varanasi as top Swachh River Front Towns.
  • Puri, Alappuzha, and Ratnagiri as Swachh Coastal Towns; and Rudrapur, Jammu, and Shopian as Clean Himalayan Cities.
  • 30 cities earned the State First Swachh City Award, including Budgam in the Union Territory category.

What Are Swachh Survekshan Awards?

• About: The Swachh Survekshan Awards are annual national honors recognizing the cleanest cities, towns, and states across India.
  • It is recognised as the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey.
  • Its primary objective is to foster healthy competitive federalism among Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). 
  • It aims to drive sustainable solid and liquid waste management, encourage massive citizen participation, and improve municipal service delivery.
  • The awards are conferred annually by the President.
• Hosting Agency: The survey is hosted and conducted annually by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), specifically convened by its Department of Urban Development. 
• Launch Year: It was launched in 2016 as the flagship evaluation tool of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).
  • The inaugural assessment covered 73 cities, with Mysuru (Mysore) securing first position.
• Assessment: The assessment utilizes a rigorous, multi-tiered 12,500-mark evaluation matrix comprising 10,500 marks for on-ground field verification and citizen feedback, alongside 2,000 marks for statutory Garbage-Free City (GFC) and ODF+/ODF++/Water+ certifications.
  • Independent assessors conduct unannounced direct observations across residential, commercial, and slum areas to verify Management Information System (MIS) data. 
  • Strict negative marking penalties are enforced against municipalities for any discrepancies between self-reported digital records and ground reality.
  • Its strategic focus shifted from basic Open Defecation Free (ODF) status to SBM-U 2.0 goals.
• Evaluation Indicators: In the latest framework, ULBs are evaluated across 43 core indicators and 176 sub-indicators spanning 10 critical domains.
  • Key weighted parameters include Visible Cleanliness (1,500 marks), Solid Waste Processing (1,500 marks), Advocacy for Swachhata (1,500 marks), Segregation, Collection & Transportation (1,000 marks), Access to Sanitation (1,000 marks), Used Water Management (1,000 marks), Ecosystem Strengthening (1,000 marks), Citizen Feedback & Grievance Redressal (1,000 marks), Mechanization of Desludging (500 marks), and Sanitation Worker Welfare (500 marks).

Government Initiatives

• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): It was launched on 2 October 2014. It was launched to eliminate open defecation and establish scientific municipal solid waste management across India.
  • It is divided into rural (SBM-Gramin) and urban (SBM-Urban) wings.
    • SBM-Gramin, implemented by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and SBM-Urban, implemented by MoHUA. 
  • The first phase successfully achieved 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) status across statutory towns. 
  • It laid foundational sanitation infrastructure by constructing millions of Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) and community toilets while aligning India with UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.2.
• SBM-U 2.0: Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2. was initiated on 1 October 2021 with a massive financial outlay of ₹1,41,600 crore.
  • It transitions Indian cities from basic toilet access toward becoming completely Garbage-Free Cities (GFC). 
  • This phase prioritizes ODF+ and ODF++ sustainability, ensuring continuous toilet maintenance and safe faecal sludge management in towns with populations under one lakh. 
  • It mandates used water management through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to achieve at least 20% water reuse.
  • Under SBM-U 2.0, urban sanitation centers on 100% door-to-door collection and strict source segregation of wet, dry, and hazardous waste. 
  • Cities process waste through Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), bio-methanation, composting, and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) plants to promote a circular economy. 
  • The mission targets the complete remediation of legacy dumpsites into green zones while restricting sanitary landfill dumping to under 20% non-recyclable rejects.
• Citizen Participation: The government is transforming sanitation infrastructure into lasting habits relies on a Jan Andolan (people’s movement) driven by continuous Information, Education, and Communication (IEC).
  • Campaigns like Swachhata Hi Seva, Safai Apnao Bimaari Bhagao, and the annual Swachh Survekshan ranking foster civic pride, healthy competition, and direct citizen feedback. 
  • Digital tools like the Swachhata App, Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) drives, and SafaiMitra Suraksha initiatives empower residents to practice home composting, reduce plastic consumption, and partner with ULBs for long-term environmental stewardship. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q1. What are the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26?

The 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26 recognises India’s cleanest cities based on sanitation, waste management, citizen participation and urban cleanliness.

Q2. Which ministry organises Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) conducts the survey under Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban.

Q3. Who presented the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26?

President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards on 11 November 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Q4. Which cities topped the Super Swachh League 2025–26?

Navi Mumbai, Surat and Vijayawada secured the top three positions in the Super Swachh League.

Q5. What new categories were introduced in Swachh Survekshan 2025–26?

New award categories recognised Swachh River Front Towns, Swachh Coastal Towns and Clean Himalayan Cities.

Disclaimer: Information in this article is based on official announcements and public records. Details may evolve over time.