New Delhi, Mar 15 (KNN) The MSME Ministry has taken several steps to encourage transition from single use plastic items to alternate materials, said Ashwin Kumar Choubey Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

He focused on the initiatives taken by MSME Ministry to restrict and minimizing the use of plastic to promote other sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives.

It has regularly organised webinars and seminars to assist MSME units with the information pertaining to single use plastic items and its impact on environment while encouraging ecological options.

The unstarred question was raised by member of Lok Sabha, T.N. Prathapan and Uday Pratap Singh.

“NITI Aayog has already constituted a Committee to find out/develop an alternative product to plastic,” he said.

MoEFCC has organized a series of awareness programme to avoid the use of single-use plastics across the country, as part of Iconic Week celebrations from 4th to 10th October, 2021, under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, replied MoS Choubey.

A separate Awareness Campaign on Single Use Plastic was also organized in 2021 along with India Plastic Challenge – Hackathon 2021, to encourage innovation in development of alternatives to identified single use plastic items and digital solutions to plastic waste management.  (KNN Bureau)