Indore has once again secured the title of India's cleanest city, marking its eighth consecutive year at the top. The Swachh Survekshan Awards Ceremony 2024-25, organized by the Central Government, officially bestowed the honor upon Indore on Thursday. Surat secured the second position, while Navi Mumbai ranked third in the central government's annual cleanliness survey.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards at a ceremony in New Delhi, organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal also attended the event. The Swachh Survekshan, now in its ninth year, assessed over 4,500 cities using 54 indicators across 10 parameters to evaluate sanitation, waste management, and service delivery. This year, a total of 78 awards were presented.

The Swachh Survekshan is central to the Union government's Swachh Bharat Mission. The primary goal of the Swachh Survekshan mission is to encourage large-scale citizen participation and raise awareness among all segments of society about the importance of working together to improve towns and cities. The Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 adopted a smart, structured approach to assess urban cleanliness and service delivery, utilizing 10 well-defined parameters and 54 indicators to provide a comprehensive view of sanitation and waste management in cities.

This year's survey introduced the Super Swachh League (SSL), a separate league for cities excelling in cleanliness. The SSL aims to inspire top-performing cities to achieve even higher standards of cleanliness while motivating other cities to improve and compete for top rankings. Cities were divided into five categories based on population size to ensure fair comparisons. The rankings consider waste management systems, sanitation drives, certifications, ground-level inspections, and resident feedback.

Indore's consistent top ranking results from strong municipal systems, effective waste separation, and active citizen participation. The city was ranked 25th in 2016 before its continuous streak as the cleanest city from 2016 to 2025. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs stated that over 3,000 assessors conducted thorough inspections in every ward across the country over 45 days, encompassing the assessment of over 11 lakh households. The awards spotlight the theme of reduce, reuse, and recycle.