India witnessed successes in field of waste management under PM Modi's leadership: VK Singh

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, on Tuesday, said that India has witnessed some remarkable successes in the field of waste management under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India has witnessed some remarkable successes in the field of waste management under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi," Singh, who attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2019, said.

He emphasised that the Prime Minister’s initiatives in the field, including the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Namami Gange, Smart Cities, among others, have been pivotal in driving the change in the mindset and outlook of common people towards cleanliness and waste management.

During the session, General Singh also voiced hope that greater participation of the citizens of the country and members of the Diaspora will go a long way in achieving the Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Clean India.

The third plenary session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2019 was held on January 22 in Varanasi, on the theme of Role of Indian Diaspora in Capacity Building for Affordable Waste Management.

The session was chaired by Singh and was coordinated by Manoj K. Bharti, Additional Secretary, Economic Diplomacy and States, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Secretary, CPV and OIA, Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay gave the introductory remarks and introduced the seven members from the Indian Diaspora community, who are also renowned experts in the field of waste management.

The plenary discussion was organised as a follow up to the Pravasi Bharatiya Conference held in July 2018 on the same issue, as a part of the MEA’s initiative to organise smaller, issue-based conferences during the year.

The objective of the conference, as well as the plenary, was to solicit the Diaspora's participation in the area of affordable waste management in the country, particularly with reference to India’s flagship initiatives such as the Swacch Bharat Mission, National Mission for Clean Ganga, and the Smart Cities initiative.

Following this, Bharti made a short presentation, elaborating upon the recommendations made by the members of the Diaspora during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference held in July 2018, along with the several policy actions taken subsequently by the concerned Ministries of the Government of India. In the discussion that followed, further suggestions on the issue area were sought from the members of the Diaspora.