Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Friday, 5 June 2026 — World Environment Day — joined the nationwide Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam ('One Tree in Mother's Name') campaign, sharing his participation on X with the campaign hashtag and an accompanying image.

Context

The post, captioned with the hashtag #एक_पेड़_माँ_के_नाम ('One Tree in Mother's Name'), aligns with the annual observance of World Environment Day on 5 June. The date carries particular resonance in India, where government ministries and public figures traditionally mark it with plantation pledges and environmental commitments.

Paswan's participation signals the campaign's continued reach across the Union Cabinet, with ministers from non-environment portfolios actively amplifying the drive to broaden its public footprint.

Policy Backdrop

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign on World Environment Day, 5 June 2024, calling on citizens to plant a sapling and dedicate it to their mothers — combining environmental action with an emotional, familial appeal.

The initiative sits within India's broader afforestation agenda under the National Action Plan on Climate Change and supports the country's international climate commitments. Successive governments have run periodic plantation drives to meet targets, but this campaign distinguished itself by framing tree-planting as a personal tribute rather than a civic obligation.

For the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the campaign carries sectoral relevance: a stronger green cover and sustainable agricultural ecosystems directly support the raw-material base on which the food processing industry depends.

Stakeholders and Impact

The campaign's primary audience is the general public, with ministers and public figures serving as amplifiers to drive grassroots participation. By posting on World Environment Day, Paswan adds institutional weight to the call for citizen-level action.

Non-environment ministers joining the campaign underscores a whole-of-government communication strategy, ensuring the message reaches communities that may be more responsive to their respective sectoral representatives than to environment-focused messaging alone.

What's Next

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is expected to release official plantation targets and survival-rate data ahead of the 2026 monsoon season, which traditionally marks the peak period for large-scale tree-planting activity across the country.

As the monsoon approaches, the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign is likely to intensify, with state governments and local bodies mobilising ground-level drives. Paswan's public endorsement on the campaign's third World Environment Day anniversary reinforces the initiative's staying power as a fixture in India's annual environmental calendar.