- Why in news
- On 16 September 2026, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood chaired a meeting reviewing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework and GHG calculator app for solid waste management. The project report was released at the meeting.
- What it is
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) measures the environmental impact of a product or process from start to end. This project applies it to Indian solid waste technologies. It gives Urban Local Bodies a framework and a web-based greenhouse gas calculator to compare waste management options.
- Project
- Development of LCA Framework for Solid Waste Management (SWM) Technologies in India, supported by the Office of the PSA in 2024.
- Who built it
- A consortium of IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras and IIT (BHU) Varanasi.
- Technologies covered
- Biomining, anaerobic digestion, waste-to-energy and landfilling were among those analysed, with case studies from six cities.
- App outputs
- The app gives net emissions, avoided emissions, logistic emissions and carbon footprint, with data on methane, carbon dioxide, NOx and black carbon.
- Uses
- It can assess new projects and DPRs, and fill environmental performance metrics needed for tenders.
Don’t confuse with LCA vs EIA: LCA tracks a product or system's impacts across its whole life cycle. Environmental Impact Assessment is a statutory, project-level clearance study before a project starts.
Science and technology: 57 Prelims questions since 2013; most test the concept behind the news, not the news itself. In Mains, 12 news-triggered questions.
Why it matters
- Gives Urban Local Bodies a science-based way to compare waste technologies on emissions.
- Supports Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban and low-carbon, climate-resilient waste management.
Problems
- Wider adoption needs institutional mechanisms and capacity in Urban Local Bodies.
- Results depend on local waste mix and data quality, so contextual data is needed.
Way forward
- Build institutional mechanisms to roll out the tool across cities.
- Use the national roadmap to guide the transition to low-emission waste systems.
Put in your answer
Low-carbon waste planning: The app helps ULBs visualise waste management scenarios with minimum GHG emissions and the lowest carbon footprint.
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- 2014Mains GS3 · Q15Environmental impacts of coal-fired thermal plants, given EIA studies before clearance
- 2018Mains GS3 · Q6Impediments to disposing discarded solid wastes and removing toxic wastes safely
- 2019Prelims Q59Which statement is correct about Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 provisions
- 2019Prelims Q78Where was extended producer responsibility introduced in India among listed rules
- 2026Prelims Q52Land allocation for waste facility sparks tribal protests and community tensions
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting waste-management topic, but this is a project review meeting with few testable facts.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.