Overview

• At the Army Headquarters Unit Run Canteen in New Delhi, the defence minister took a Swachhata pledge, planted a sapling, and felicitated Safai Mitras.
• He flagged off a Safai Run with 100 NCC cadets to underscore youth participation in the Swachh Bharat campaign.
• He said a healthy, clean, and conscious society is a pillar of national security and called cleanliness a national duty.
• Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, and Air Chief Marshal AP Singh joined the programme alongside senior MoD and DRDO officials.
• The ministry highlighted collective cleanliness drives, waste-to-wealth initiatives, and said military camps are open-defecation free, with parallel Swachhata activities by ministers reported in multiple states during Seva Pakhwada.