National waste‑picker census reveals 152,000 profiled The Union government released data on Feb 3 2026 showing 1.52 lakh waste‑pickers enumerated across urban areas of 35 states and UTs, with 84.5% belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class groups and 10.7% from the General category [1].
Women constitute just under half of enumerated workers Of the 152,000 waste‑pickers, 48.7% are women (74,427), 51.3% men (78,374) and 0.007% transgender (12), highlighting gender representation in the informal sector [1].
SC, OBC and ST groups dominate social composition The profile shows 60.3% from Scheduled Castes (92,089), 13.7% from OBCs (20,954) and 10.5% from Scheduled Tribes, while 10.7% (16,329) belong to the General category [1].
Delhi, Goa and West Bengal break national trend In Delhi and Goa, General‑category waste‑pickers are a majority—4,289 of over 6,500 in Delhi and 729 of 1,286 in Goa—while West Bengal records 42.4% General‑category workers, contrasting with the 10.7% national average [1].
NAMASTE scheme aims to formalise and protect workers The Ministry of Social Justice’s NAMASTE programme enumerates waste‑pickers and sewer/septic‑tank cleaners to grant formal recognition, supply protective gear and eliminate deaths from hazardous cleaning; it has already listed about 89,000 sewer‑related workers, 95.8% male, 91.95% from SC/ST/OBC backgrounds [1].
Hundreds have died cleaning sewers and tanks since 2014 Government data indicate 859 fatalities among sewer and septic‑tank workers since 2014, including 43 deaths recorded in 2025, underscoring occupational hazards the scheme seeks to address [1].