• Swachhotsav 2023 was launched by MoHUA on first International Zero Waste Day (March 30^th).
• Swachhotsav campaign aims at galvanizing participation and leadership of women to realize the goal of ‘Garbage Free Cities’.
• The first IZWD has been jointly facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
• MoHUA said that 1,000 cities are targeted to become 3-star Garbage Free Cities (GFC) by October 2024 under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) 2.0.
  • GFC-Star rating protocol was launched in 2018 under SBM-U 2.0 to encourage a competitive, mission-mode spirit among Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

About SBM-U 2.0:

• It is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme by MoHUA and envisages to make all cities ‘Garbage Free’.
• It focuses on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), etc for effective solid waste management.
• Under SBM-U 2.0,Urban India has become Open Defecation Free (ODF).
  • All Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are completely ODF, 3,547 ULBs are ODF+ with functional and hygienic community and public toilets and 1,191 ULBs are ODF++ with complete faecal sludge management.
  • Waste processing in India has gone up by over four times from 17% in 2014 to 75% today.