From Outsourced Sewer Work to Mechanised Sanitation Entrepreneurship: How NAMASTE–SUY Transformed Sushil Kumar Sharma’s Livelihood

Sushil Kumar Sharma, an outsourced sewer-cleaning worker from Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, transitioned to a mechanised sanitation entrepreneur through the Swachhta Udyami Yojana (SUY) under the NAMASTE initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Supported on 15 January 2026 for a total project cost of ₹10.70 lakh—financed via a loan of ₹5.35 lakh and a capital subsidy of ₹5.35 lakh—he procured a tractor with a suction tanker. This mechanisation replaced physically strenuous cleaning practices, elevated his monthly income from approximately ₹15,000 to ₹30,000–₹35,000, and provided him with a safer, more dignified, and stable livelihood.