Rural areas of seven States (Sikkim, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh) and two Union Territories (Chandigarh and Daman & Diu) have become Open Defecation Free (ODF)

The Prime Minister himself has been at the helm of affairs, being the communicator in chief of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). This has been a game changer for the Mission, and is one of the primary differentiators between the SBM and previous sanitation programs through a change in attitudes and inculcated behaviour traits as results of age old customs.

• Interpersonal Communication (IPC) is a crucial component of SBM in this regard.
• Swachhagrahis are the foot soldiers of Swachhta. Swachhagrahis are of all ages, sexes and creeds. Children in particular are among the most enthusiastic sanitation Champions Vaanarsena (army of monkeys) a team of small kids who people do not resort to open defecation are seen in districts across the country. They engage in playful and childlike measures like blowing whistles, singing songs, taking out awareness drives to make people aware of the ill-elects of open defecation.
• Community itself identifying Champions from within the communities is a better motivator and influencer than a top-down chain of command.
• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has come up with an aggressive new campaign called Darwaza Band. Darwaza Band symbolically stands for shutting the door on open defecation.
• The mass entertainer ‘Toilet – EK Prem Katha’ was a seminal case of mainstreaming the Swachhata message, while also spreading awareness about ground realities and the kind of work being done by the Mission in the field. Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, women fighting for their right to a toilet have become a recurring theme in rural India.
• In the ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ fortnight shramdaan for Swachhata, pledged Swachhata Shapaths, wrote essays and made paintings and films on cleanliness, inspiring such a spike in citizen engagement serves as a platform for the way forward.
• The sanitation programme in Bikaner district for example, located in the heart of the arid Thar Desert in Rajasthan was located with several cultural and geographical challenges.
• The BankoBikano campaign, when it was launched, surprised everyone. The Basic premise of the programme was pride for the family, pride for the village and ultimately for the district. This thought and vision using local language and customs caught on in the social fabric of rural Bikaner and the programme became almost self-propelling.
• Behaviour change is the primary focus and fundamental tool for achievement of ODF outcomes.
• The ministry is doing it by its focused Information Education and Communication (IEC) programme. It promotes gender sensitive information, behaviour change guidelines and various mass educations activates, The Ministry issued gene guidelines in 2017 and Menstrual Management Guidelines on 2015

Swachhata Pakhwada:

Swachhata Pakhwada started in April 2016 with the objective of brining a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhata by engaging Central Ministries and Departments in their jurisdiction. An annual calendar is pre-circulated among the Ministries to help them plan for the Pakhwada activities.

Namami Gange:

Namami Gange Programme is an initiative of Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) comprising of making villages on the bank of River Ganga ODF and interventions dealing with solid and liquid waste management are being implemented by MDWS

Swachhata Action Plan (SAP)

SAP, a first of its kind inter-ministerial programme for Swachhata, is a concrete realization of Prime Minister’ vision that Swachhata is everyone’s business. All Union Ministries/Departments have started to work for its realization in a significant manner with appropriate budget provision. A separate budget head has been created for this by the Ministry of Finance

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP)

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has taken up a multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on cleaning up 100 places across India that are “iconic” due to their heritage, religious and/or cultural significance.

Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Competition

To achieve a New India 2022 under Sankalp se Siddhi, a mass resolve to make all dirt and filth quit India. In pursuit of this vision, MoDWS organised country wide Film, Essay and Painting Competition between August 17, and September 8, 2017 as another major step towards making Swachhta a people’s movement.