The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on July 08, 2026, has amended the White Category Sectors notified under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by replacing the existing Schedule issued in November, 2024 with a revised list of 87 White Category sectors.
The following has been stated:
The revised Schedule expands the scope of White Category industries by including several new low-pollution activities such as Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants, renewable energy-based hydrogen production, used cooking oil collection centres, medical oxygen production, solar module manufacturing, and various assembly, fabrication, packaging, and dry-process manufacturing units.
Additionally, certain small-scale industries previously classified under the Green Category—including specified food processing units, bakeries, restaurants, cement product manufacturing, detergent manufacturing, rice mills, and puffed rice units—have been reclassified as White Category, subject to prescribed capacity limits and environmental conditions.
Please refer to the document attached below for more details.
[Notification No.- G.S.R. 599(E)]
