"Rural Sanitation Mission Shifts From Toilets to Waste Management"
ODF Plus
A village that sustains ODF status while managing solid and liquid waste and maintaining visual cleanliness.
GOBARdhan
Scheme converting cattle dung and organic waste into biogas, CBG, and manure.
Rural sanitation policy in India has evolved through several phases before arriving at the current model. Early efforts such as the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (1986) and the Total Sanitation Campaign (1999) struggled with low toilet usage despite construction targets. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014, marked a decisive shift by combining infrastructure creation with sustained public messaging. At that time, rural sanitation coverage stood at only 39 percent. Within five years, coverage reached 100 percent and rural India was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2019, a scale of toilet construction achieved through active involvement of gram panchayats, reflecting the decentralised implementation structure envisaged for local bodies.
Once near-universal toilet access was achieved, policy attention moved from building toilets to sustaining their use and managing the waste generated at the village level. This is the mandate of SBM-Gramin Phase II, run by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which focuses on sustaining ODF status and strengthening Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) systems in villages.
Sanitation financing and delivery models vary globally. Community-based microfinance tools such as WaterCredit, pioneered by the non-profit Water.org, have shown that poor households can meet water and sanitation needs through small loans rather than relying purely on subsidies. India's own sanitation landscape includes comparable multi-stakeholder platforms, such as the India Sanitation Coalition, an industry-led coalition that mobilises private capital and expertise rather than being a government-funded body. SBM-G Phase II sits within this broader ecosystem: it treats the sustainability of sanitation assets, not merely their one-time creation, as the real policy challenge.
An ODF Plus village is one that sustains its ODF status while also managing solid and liquid waste and maintaining visual cleanliness. Such villages are graded into three progressive stages. Aspiring villages manage either solid or liquid waste. Rising villages manage both waste streams. Model villages manage both streams, maintain visual cleanliness, and display ODF Plus messaging. This tiered framework allows the programme to track qualitative progress beyond a simple toilet-count metric.
A flagship instrument under this phase is GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan), which converts cattle dung, crop residue, and organic waste into biogas, compressed bio-gas (CBG), and organic manure or bio-slurry. …
Consider the following statements:
1.The India Sanitation Coalition is a platform to promote sustainable sanitation and is funded by the Government of India and the World Health Organization.
2.The National Institute of Urban Affairs is an apex body of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Government of India and provides innovative solutions to address the challenges of Urban India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to 'WaterCredit', consider the following statements:
1.It puts microfinance tools to work in the water and sanitation sector.
2.It is a global initiative launched under the aegis of the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
3.It aims to enable the poor people to meet their water needs without depending on subsidies.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to the 'ODF Plus' framework under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin Phase II, match List-I (Village Category) with List-II (Defining Criteria) and select the correct answer using the codes below:
List-I
A.Aspiring
B.Rising
C.Model
List-II
1.Manages both solid and liquid waste
2.Manages either solid or liquid waste
3.Manages both waste streams and maintains visual cleanliness with ODF Plus messaging
Consider the following statements:
1.The India Sanitation Coalition is funded jointly by the Government of India and the World Health Organization.
2.The National Institute of Urban Affairs functions as an apex body under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about 'GOBARdhan', a flagship initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin Phase II:
1.It stands for 'Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan'.
2.It converts cattle dung and organic waste into biogas, compressed bio-gas (CBG), and organic manure.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin Phase II, which of the following are formally recognised as platforms for Behaviour Change Communication (BCC)?
1.Swachhagrahis
2.DAY-NRLM Self-Help Groups
3.District Rural Development Agencies
Select the correct answer using the code below:
Consider the following statements:
1.Rural sanitation coverage in India stood at about 39% when the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in 2014.
2.Rural India was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the same year the Mission was launched.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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