DARE and ICAR Begin Special Campaign 6.0 at Farm Institutes

The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) began Special Campaign 6.0 on 2 October 2026, taking cleanliness and sanitation work to ICAR institutes and establishments in every part of the country. Officials of ICAR headquarters opened the campaign with a drive at the National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) at Pusa in New Delhi.

What the campaign covers

• Cleanliness drives and shramdaan in institute premises, villages, roads and pathways.
• Special Gram Sabhas, Swachhata Sabhas and awareness programmes on sanitation, hygiene and waste management.
• Plogging to pick up litter from public and institutional spaces, followed by plantation and greening of the cleaned ground, including under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign.
• Placing dustbins at identified spots and honouring Safai Mitras, sanitation workers and volunteers.
• Vermicomposting of water hyacinth and a weeding out of old files for proper disposal and record keeping.

Each cleaned site is photographed before and after, so the change can be seen rather than claimed.

Shramik Samman in Goa

The day's main event was at the ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-CCARI) in Goa, where Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan honoured the institute's Safai Mitras with shawls, bouquets and gifts for keeping the campus clean through the year. Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant praised the institute's work under Swachhata Hi Seva 2026. Union Minister of State Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and Rajya Sabha member Shri Sadanand Shet Tanawade were also present. The organisers summed up the programme in three words: Swachhata, Seva and Shramik Samman.

Swachh Bharat Diwas at IARI

At the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI) in New Delhi, Swachh Bharat Diwas was observed under the theme Swachhta Mein Sahbhag - Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat, with floral tribute paid to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary. Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR) Dr Mangi Lal Jat asked that cleanliness be treated as a year-round, team-based activity rather than a single day's event, linking a better workplace to the well-being of staff and to the progress of science. He spoke of building second-line leadership, mentoring young scientists and holding every person accountable for the work given to them. Prizes were handed to winners of a painting competition held by the Post Graduate School Students' Union during the Swachhata Abhiyaan.

Elsewhere in the ICAR network

ICAR-NAARM in Hyderabad paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and felicitated its Safai Mitras. ICAR-CAFRI in Jhansi marked Swachh Bharat Diwas with work on sanitation, community participation and waste management. At ICAR-CIARI in Sri Vijaya Puram, staff gave an hour of voluntary shramdaan behind the ATIC building and near the old quarters, cleaned the area and planted West Indian Cherry saplings under Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.