New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): Indian startups in the sanitation and waste management sector got a shot in the arm when the Ministry of Urban Affairs felicitated 30 startups providing innovative solutions for cleanliness of Indian cities at the Swachhata Startup Conclave.

The Conclave, conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban, showcased innovative solutions on various themes including social inclusion, zero dump, plastic waste management and transparency through digital enablement.

The event, which was attended by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore and others saw participation from nearly 400 delegates including from leading startups and unicorns in the field, city administrators, state government officials, investors, academia, government bodies and industries, sector partners, industry experts and representatives from DPIIT.

Speaking at the event, Kaushal Kishore said that the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having a clean India has taken the form of 'Jan Andolan' with the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)- Urban. Recycling and turning waste into useful products under this mission, may not just help in moving in the direction of Garbage Free Cities but also help in generating employment at large scale.

At the opening session of the Conclave, Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary MoHUA and National Mission Director, SBM - Urban outlined the magnitude and scale of the goal of Garbage Free Cities envisioned in SBM 2.0, and the role required to be played by various stakeholders collectively achieving that goal.