For Prelims: Urban local body, Solid waste management, Mentor-mentee pairing
For Mains: Governance: Urban local governance and sanitation; Environment: Solid waste management
Source:
Hindustan
5 facts for one-day exams
SSC, railway, police and teaching exams ask direct questions like these.
- Navi Mumbai ranked first overall in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26.
- Ahmedabad-Sanand led the paired-city category.
- Rudrapur topped the Himalayan city category.
- Rewa ranked first among riverfront cities.
- Puri led the coastal city category.
The news
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday presented the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 awards at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, naming Navi Mumbai as India's cleanest city. The Maharashtra city was followed by Surat in Gujarat and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in the overall ranking. The survey introduced new categories this year to make the competition more broad-based, and Indore, which had held the top spot for the past eight years, did not feature among the leading positions.
In the population-based categories, Greater Visakhapatnam topped cities with more than one million residents, with Jabalpur second and Lucknow third. Ujjain led the three-lakh-to-ten-lakh category, followed by Chandigarh and Guntur. Dewas won the 50,000-to-three-lakh category, ahead of the New Delhi Municipal Council and Sagar. Among towns with 20,000 to 50,000 people, Bilha in Chhattisgarh ranked first, Panchgani second and Budhni third.
Geographic categories saw Rewa named the cleanest riverfront city, Puri the cleanest coastal city and Rudrapur the cleanest Himalayan city. In the mentor-mentee paired-city competition, Ahmedabad-Sanand finished first, Indore-Depalpur second and Tirupati-Kuppam third. State-level leaders included Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Patna in Bihar, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, Kashipur in Uttarakhand, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Karnal in Haryana.
Why in the news?
President Droupadi Murmu presented the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 awards on 11 November 2026, with Navi Mumbai displacing eight-time winner Indore as the cleanest city, making the results a significant shift in the annual urban cleanliness rankings.
How are the categories structured?
Swachh Survekshan is an annual urban cleanliness survey that ranks cities on sanitation performance. The 2025-26 edition included separate population-based categories, geographic categories for riverfront, coastal and Himalayan cities, and a mentor-mentee paired-city competition. This structure is intended to allow cities of different sizes and settings to compete on a comparable basis rather than being measured against all others in a single list.
What do the state-level and paired-city results show?
Ahmedabad-Sanand topped the paired-city competition, followed by Indore-Depalpur and Tirupati-Kuppam. State-level leaders such as Ghaziabad, Patna, Jamshedpur, Kashipur, Jaipur, Gwalior and Karnal represent the cleanest city within each state, not the national ranking. These distinctions must not be confused with the overall or population-based results, as each category measures a different set of participants.
Swachh Survekshan category leaders
| Category | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Navi Mumbai | Surat | Vijayawada |
| Riverfront | Rewa | Bilaspur | Varanasi |
| Coastal | Puri | Alappuzha | Ratnagiri |
| Himalayan | Rudrapur | Jammu | Shopian |
| Above 1 million | Greater Visakhapatnam | Jabalpur | Lucknow |
| 50,000–300,000 | Dewas | New Delhi Municipal Council | Sagar |
Facts and terms for exams
- Urban local body:
- An urban local body is a local government institution responsible for civic administration in an urban area.
- Solid waste management:
- Solid waste management covers the collection, segregation, processing and safe disposal of solid waste.
- Mentor-mentee pairing:
- A mentor-mentee pairing links an entity providing guidance with another receiving support and sharing experience.
Why it matters for exams
Exams: UPPSC, MPPSC, UKPSC, SSC, UPSSSC PET, UPPSC RO/ARO, MPESB, UKSSSC
Syllabus: Governance: Urban local governance and sanitation; Environment: Solid waste management
Common mistake: Examiners may swap the overall winner with a category winner: Navi Mumbai ranked first overall, while Greater Visakhapatnam led the above-1-million population category.
Mains question
Swachh Survekshan has introduced multiple categories to make rankings more competitive. Examine how such categorisation can improve urban sanitation outcomes and what limitations remain.
Stuck? Get it in one tap
Swachh Survekshan compares and recognises cities for cleanliness. Navi Mumbai ranked first overall in 2025-26. Separate lists covered cities of different population sizes, riverfront and coastal cities, Himalayan cities and mentor-mentee pairs.
- Navi Mumbai ranked first overall in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26.
- Ahmedabad-Sanand led the paired-city category.
- Rudrapur topped the Himalayan city category.
- Rewa ranked first among riverfront cities.
- Puri led the coastal city category.
- Governance: Urban local governance and sanitation
- Environment: Solid waste management
Related concepts: Urban local body, Solid waste management, Mentor-mentee pairing
Practice questions
Pick an answer, then read the explanation.
- Q1Easy
Which municipal body ranked second in the 50,000–300,000 population category of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26?
Explanation: New Delhi Municipal Council ranked second behind Dewas in the 50,000–300,000 category. Greater Visakhapatnam and Jabalpur featured in the above-1-million category, while Ahmedabad-Sanand was a paired-city entry.
- Q2Hard
Consider the following statements about Swachh Survekshan 2025-26:
- 1.Navi Mumbai ranked first overall.
- 2.Puri ranked first among riverfront cities.
- 3.Ahmedabad-Sanand ranked first among paired cities.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation: Statements 1 and 3 are correct: Navi Mumbai topped the overall list and Ahmedabad-Sanand led the paired-city category. Statement 2 is incorrect because Puri led coastal cities, while Rewa led riverfront cities.
- Q3Medium
What was Lucknow's rank in the above-1-million population category of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26?
Explanation: Lucknow ranked third in the above-1-million category. Greater Visakhapatnam ranked first and Jabalpur second.
- Q4Medium
What is the purpose of distinguishing population and geographic categories in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 rankings?
Explanation: Separate categories recognise cities across population sizes and geographic settings. Category winners are distinct from the overall winner, and the results also include paired cities and cities below 1 million residents.
Frequently asked questions
1. Which city topped Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 overall?
Navi Mumbai ranked first overall, followed by Surat and Vijayawada.
2. Which city topped the Himalayan category in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26?
Rudrapur in Uttarakhand ranked first, followed by Jammu and Shopian.
3. Which cities topped the riverfront and coastal categories?
Rewa topped the riverfront category, while Puri led the coastal category.
4. Which cities topped the paired-city category in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26?
Ahmedabad and Sanand ranked first as a mentor-mentee pair.
All sources
- Original11 November 2026 · Read story
