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Over 20.7 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste recycled under EPR rules since 2022
CPCB reports no data on land subsidence due to groundwater depletion
29 cheetahs translocated to India, with cub survival rate above 70%
India’s installed power capacity reaches 524 GW, with growing renewable share
Ethanol blending target of 20% achieved; phased rollout planned for CBG and SAF
Around 6.7% groundwater samples exceed uranium safety limits in parts of India
Urban cycling infrastructure expands under AMRUT and national planning policies
Around 20.7 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste have been recycled since the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Guidelines came into force in 2022, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav told the Lok Sabha. There are 60,128 registered producers, importers and brand owners and 3,012 registered plastic waste processors on the Centralised Online Extended Producer Responsibility Portal on plastic packaging.
To ensure compliance with EPR obligations, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued show-cause notices on November 25, 2024, December 30, 2024 and March 11, 2026 under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. These were issued to registered producers, importers and brand owners for failing to meet EPR targets and for not submitting annual returns for financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, he stated.
The CPCB has imposed environmental compensation of Rs 48.42 crore and recovered Rs 47.35 crore for the period from 2018 to 2024, leaving Rs 1.06 crore outstanding, Yadav told the Lok Sabha.
The time limit for payment of environmental compensation is specified in individual orders on a case-by-case basis. Data on outstanding compensation collected by State Pollution Control Boards is maintained by the respective state boards, he added.
A total of 29 cheetahs — eight from Namibia, twelve from South Africa and nine from Botswana — have been translocated to India in Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Lok Sabha. Of these, three cheetahs have been further translocated to Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
According to the state government, 45 cubs have been born in Kuno, of which 33 have survived. The survival rate of cheetah cubs is 73.33 per cent, while the overall survival rate stands at 71.62 per cent — 70.42 per cent in Kuno and 100 per cent in Gandhisagar. These survival rates are among the highest globally for similar translocation projects, the minister said.
India’s electricity demand is being met through a mix of sources including coal, gas, solar, hydro, wind and nuclear power, Union Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik told the Rajya Sabha. As of February 28, 2026, the installed generation capacity stood at 524 GW.
This includes about 248.5 GW from thermal sources (227.8 GW from coal and lignite, 20.1 GW from gas and 0.6 GW from diesel), 8.8 GW from nuclear power and 266.7 GW from renewable energy sources. Renewable capacity comprises 51.2 GW from large hydro, 143.6 GW from solar, 55.1 GW from wind and 16.8 GW from other sources such as biomass and small hydro, he added.
The government’s focus remains on expanding non-fossil fuel capacity, with a target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based installed capacity by 2030, the minister said.
Under the Ethanol Blended Petrol programme, average ethanol blending levels over the past three years were 12.06 per cent, 14.60 per cent and 19.24 per cent, against targets of 12 per cent, 15 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi told the Rajya Sabha.
The 20 per cent blending target for the current ethanol supply year was achieved in December 2025, he added.
Under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation or SATAT initiative, phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas in compressed natural gas (transport) and piped natural gas (domestic) segments has been fixed at 1 per cent, 3 per cent and 4 per cent for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 respectively, and 5 per cent from 2028-29 onwards, Gopi stated.
For sustainable aviation fuel, indicative blending targets of 1 per cent by 2027, 2 per cent by 2028 and 5 per cent by 2030 have been approved in aviation turbine fuel, initially for international flights, he said.
Out of 3,754 groundwater samples analysed in 2024, around 6.71 per cent were found to have uranium levels above the permissible limit of 30 ppb for drinking water, as per Bureau of Indian Standards IS 10500:2012, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary told the Rajya Sabha.
The findings are based on the Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025 released by the Central Ground Water Board. Higher concentrations of uranium were observed in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Moderate contamination was reported in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while most other states recorded uranium levels within safe limits, the minister stated.
The government has issued multiple policy frameworks and guidelines to promote non-motorised transport, including cycling infrastructure, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu told the Rajya Sabha.
The National Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy, 2017, the Metro Policy, 2017, and the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 encourage pedestrian- and cycle-friendly planning, integration of land use with transport systems, and the provision of adequate non-motorised transport infrastructure, he added.
The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched on June 25, 2015 in 500 selected cities (485 cities, including 15 merged cities) and towns across the country. Under AMRUT, non-motorised urban transport is one of the mission’s key focus areas, including the provision of pedestrian, non-motorised and public transport facilities, cycle tracks, and parking spaces, promoting environmentally friendly, low-carbon development, the minister said.
So far, 348 projects worth Rs 1,022.27 crore have been grounded, of which works worth Rs 986.06 crore have been physically completed. A total of 430 kilometres m of pedestrian walkways and 43 km of dedicated cycle tracks have been created, Sahu said.