CATEGORIZATION OF POLLUTING INDUSTRIES

•India's environment ministry has sought to classify industrial units in a category of colours based on their pollution potential.
•The categorisation is based on a pollution index developed by the ministry taking into account the emissions, effluents, hazardous waste generated, and the resources it consumes.
•They would be classified on the basis of how they score on a scale ranging between 15 to 60:
Colour Score Examples Red (Heavily Polluting) 60 and above Petrochemicals, pharma, sugar, paper, nuclear and thermal power, tanneries, organic chemicals, fertilizers, fire crackers Orange Between 30-59 Coal washeries, glass manufacturing, paints, stone crushers, aluminum and copper extraction from scrap
Green Between 15-29 Aluminum utensils, steel furniture, soap, tea processing
White (Non-polluting) Below 15 Air cooler, AC units, Chalk factories, Biscuit tray units
•The classification is for entire industrial sectors and not individual units.
•The system of annual renewal of certification will also be scrapped with this. The Ministry has suggested five years renewal for red, ten years for orange and one time certification for green. White industries would not require any environmental clearance .