New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s month-long cleanliness and efficiency drive has yielded remarkable results — earning ₹800 crore from scrap sales in October 2025 alone, surpassing the ₹615 crore cost of India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. The campaign not only cleared physical clutter from government offices but also symbolized a broader administrative reform drive aimed at improving productivity and transparency.
According to a News18 report, this year’s campaign has pushed the Centre’s total scrap earnings to ₹4,097 crore since the first special campaign launched in 2021.
India’s Largest Cleanliness Drive Yet
Held from October 2 to 31, the 2025 campaign was the biggest so far, both in reach and outcome. The initiative covered nearly 11.58 lakh government sites — including ministries, foreign missions, and public sector offices — and freed up a record 232 lakh sq ft of office space. More than 29 lakh old physical files were weeded out and digitized, marking the most extensive cleanup since the government began its special campaigns.
The exercise was coordinated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), under the supervision of senior ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, K. Ram Mohan Naidu, and Dr. Jitendra Singh. Effective coordination among 84 ministries and departments transformed what began as a cleanliness mission into a systemic efficiency reform across the Indian bureaucracy.
Five Years of ‘Swachhata’ and Systemic Change
Since 2021, five such “Special Campaigns for Swachhata” have been conducted to promote cleanliness, reduce bureaucratic backlog, and modernize government workplaces.
In total, these campaigns have:
- Covered 23.62 lakh offices nationwide
- Freed 928.84 lakh sq ft of office space
- Weeded out or closed 166.95 lakh files
- Generated ₹4,097 crore through scrap sales
The sustained effort has not only improved record management but also fostered a new culture of accountability and efficiency within government departments.
Cabinet ministers actively monitored the campaign throughout October, conducting regular staff reviews and grievance redressal meetings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged ministries to maintain the cleanliness and efficiency momentum year-round, emphasizing that “Swachhata should be a governance value, not an annual ritual.”
A Model of Clean Governance
With the campaign’s financial and administrative success, the government’s Swachhata initiative stands as an example of how cleanliness drives can yield both economic value and systemic improvement. The ₹800 crore earned from scrap sales is now being hailed as a benchmark for how efficient management can turn waste into wealth — literally.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
