Swachh Bharat Mission

October 6, 2026 6:32 PM

PM Modi Highlights India’s Water Governance Model as a Lesson for Global South

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared an article highlighting how India’s water-governance model is offering valuable lessons for the wider Global South, emphasising that water security depends not only on infrastructure but also on effective planning, strong local systems and community participation. “From India, a water-governance model is offering useful lessons for the wider Global South. Water security is not only about building infrastructure but also about good planning, str...

October 5, 2026 1:25 PM

Beyond toilets: How Swachh Bharat is turning cleanliness into a community habit

A household visit by a Swachhagrahi, a village discussion at a Ratri Chaupal, a school cleanliness activity and a complaint registered through the Swachhata App serve a common purpose: making sanitation part of everyday behaviour. Since its launch on October 2, 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has placed behaviour change at the centre of its approach. Building toilets and waste management facilities created essential infrastructure, but sustaining their use required dialogue, participation...

October 1, 2026 4:44 PM

From broom to bot: Technology brings smarter, safer urban sanitation

Technology is increasingly transforming urban sanitation in India, with digital dashboards, artificial intelligence-powered robots and electric vehicles being deployed to make waste management smarter, safer and more efficient. As the Swachh Bharat Mission enters a new phase of technology-enabled sanitation, cities are adopting digital platforms to improve service delivery, robots to undertake hazardous cleaning and electric vehicles for cleaner door-to-door waste collection. In Raipur...

October 1, 2026 4:20 PM

From kitchen scraps to public parks: How India is turning waste into wealth

India’s approach to waste management is gradually moving beyond collection and disposal towards recovery, reuse and resource creation. From kitchen scraps turned into compost to invasive aquatic plants transformed into handicrafts, initiatives across the country are demonstrating how materials once considered waste can support livelihoods, improve public spaces and contribute to a circular economy. The shift builds on the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014 to promote cleanliness, b...

September 28, 2026 4:17 PM

From waste to purpose: How Indian cities are rewriting the plastic story

India’s approach to plastic waste is changing, with cities and communities increasingly focusing not only on reducing the use of single-use plastic but also on reuse, collection, recycling and converting discarded plastic into useful products. A decade ago, plastic bags were a routine part of shopping in Indian markets. Today, initiatives across the country are encouraging consumers to carry reusable bags, segregate waste at source and ensure that collected plastic reaches recovery and recycl...

September 28, 2026 10:07 AM

Organic waste finds new life as fuel, electricity and manure under Swachh Bharat Mission

Organic waste across several parts of the country is being converted into clean fuel, electricity and organic manure as waste-to-energy initiatives gain momentum under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Launched in October 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission has focused on scientific management of municipal solid waste. With the evolution of the mission, organic waste is increasingly being treated as a resource for generating clean energy. Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, different cities and instit...

September 20, 2026 1:58 PM

From toilets to behaviour change: How Swachh Bharat is transforming rural sanitation

India’s rural sanitation programme has moved beyond the construction of household toilets to a broader focus on sustaining sanitation practices, managing waste and encouraging communities to take ownership of cleanliness. When the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) began in 2014, rural sanitation coverage stood at 39 per cent. By 2019, the government said rural India had achieved 100 per cent sanitation coverage, with more than 10.28 crore toilets constructed between 2014 and 2019. Rural India was s...

July 23, 2026 10:48 AM

Nagpur transforms Bhandewadi dumpsite into modern waste processing hub under Swachh Bharat Mission

Nagpur has emerged as a model for scientific urban waste management after transforming the Bhandewadi legacy dumpsite into a modern integrated waste processing facility under the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban 2.0, the Centre said on Wednesday. The initiative forms part of the government's Lakshya Zero Dumpsite campaign, which aims to scientifically remediate legacy waste dumps across the country through bio-mining, advanced waste processing technologies and systematic landfill reclamation. Acc...

June 16, 2026 12:53 PM

How India’s ‘Ease of Living’ push has reshaped housing, sanitation, banking and connectivity over 12 years

Over the past 12 years, India's development strategy has increasingly focused on improving everyday living standards through a combination of welfare schemes, infrastructure expansion, financial inclusion and governance reforms. The changes span multiple sectors, including housing, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, banking, transport and digital governance, with programmes targeting both rural and urban populations. The scale of these interventions is reflected in the numbers. More than ...

June 10, 2026 1:10 PM

25 crore out of poverty, 15.8 crore homes with tap water: India’s welfare story in numbers

Over the past decade, India's welfare landscape has undergone a significant transformation, marked by an expansion of social protection programmes, improved access to basic services and greater use of technology in public service delivery. Government data indicate that nearly 25 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23, while access to housing, healthcare, sanitation, financial services and livelihood opportunities expanded across the country. Poverty R...