MoEFCC Notifies New List of 86 White Category Industrial Sectors for Simplified Compliance. ESG Broadcast shares key takeaways.
Key Extract
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) officially announced a major revision to the White Category Sectors list on October 17, 2025. This significant change was enacted by substituting the entire schedule under both the Air Act and the Water Act, ensuring environmental oversight. One of the major revisions was including Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants under white category industries. The updated list now encompasses a total of eighty-six distinct industrial sectors, greatly expanding the category. This progressive move from the Central Government aims to simplify compliance for businesses.
Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plants were assigned to the Blue category based on their feedstock and wastewater generation. Specifically, CBG facilities utilizing municipal solid waste, agro-residues, energy crops, grass, weeds, animal waste, press mud, and similar non-industrial feedstock and generating 50 KLD or more of wastewater received a Pollution Index score of 82.5. Conversely, CBG plants using the same input materials but producing less than 50 KLD of wastewater were also classified similarly but with a lower Pollution Index score of 79.0.
For plants that utilize non-industrial feedstock and do not discharge any wastewater, the classification varied based on the by-product process. Those producing by-products such as Fermented Organic Manure (FOM), Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM), enriched manure, or briquettes or pellets using fuel, received a Pollution Index score of 60.0 and were categorized as Blue. Conversely, identical plants that operate without wastewater discharge and produce similar by-products but use electricity to generate briquettes or pellets were placed in the White category. This White category classification reflects a lower environmental impact and operational emissions, with these specific plants receiving a Pollution Index score of 20.0.
The Central Government exercised its authority under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, for this latest statutory amendment. A similar notification simultaneously amended the environmental regulations under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, as well. Both crucial revisions were officially finalized after thorough consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This regulatory collaboration promotes industrial development and environmental clarity.
The comprehensive list of White Category Sectors introduced eighty-six entries covering a wide range of low-impact industrial activities. Activities characterized as virtually non-polluting received their classification under this new, streamlined regulatory framework. Newly added sectors specifically included electrical and electronic item assembling, clearly a dry process operation. Basic blending and packing of tea, along with the assembly of bicycles, was also a prominent inclusion.
Specific capacity restrictions were clearly defined for sectors like oil mill ghani and small-scale food processing units. Agro-produce processing units were included only if their capacity remained less than one tonne per day and they used clean fuels. The notification also specified that several entries were actually sub-sectors carved out from the existing Green Category for easier classification. This careful distinction subsequently simplified licensing for micro-scale and small-scale operations.
Strategic significance lies in the government’s systematic effort to drastically reduce the regulatory burden placed upon low-polluting industries across the nation. By clearly defining and significantly expanding the White Category, the central authority enabled an improved ‘ease of doing business’ environment for numerous small enterprises. This effective regulatory move fundamentally helps conserve critical administrative and inspection resources. It allows the CPCB to better focus its monitoring and enforcement efforts on the more polluting Red and Orange sectors.
