Swachh Bharat Mission on track to declare India open defecation free by October 2019
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), over 500,000 villages and 585 districts in India have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Drinking water; sanitation & hygiene
India launches Swachh Bharat Mission to end open defecation nationwide
The Swachh Bharat Mission launched on October 2, 2014, Gandhi’s 150th birthday, with one audacious goal: end open defecation across India within five years. The government subsidized roughly 90 million toilets, and by 2022 the share of Indians practicing open defecation had dropped from 73% in 2000 to about 11%. A quiet shift in everyday public health.