Page 43 - NIS English 01-15 October, 2025

11 years of Swachh Bharat Mission | FLAGSHIP

Impact-2 Impact-3

Basis of a dignified Waste to Wealth: The

and healthy life New Prosperity Path

The Swachh Bharat Mission has today become a symbol The spirit of cleanliness reached a significant milestone in
of dignified life for the poor. PM Modi had shared an 2019. More toilets were built in urban areas than initially
international scientific report last year, which explained targeted, and after achieving the goal of making rural India
how much impact efforts like this mission have had in open-defecation free, the race for “plus ratings” began.
reducing infant and child mortality in the country. He However, this was just one stage of the journey. Following
posted on social media, “Glad to see research underlining this, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 was launched. The mission
the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission. now emphasizes treatment and management of wastewater,
Access to proper toilets plays an important role in reducing solid waste management, and handling of construction
infant and child mortality. Clean and safe sanitation has and demolition waste in urban areas. As a result, many new
become a game-changer in the direction of public health. I innovations and experiments are emerging in the direction
am happy that India has played a leading role in this.” Last of turning waste into wealth. In other words, the mission of
year, a study was published in a renowned international cleanliness is no longer limited to just building toilets - it is
journal. This study has been done jointly by scientists now paving the way for a new path to prosperity. Employment
from the International Food Policy Research Institute, is also being created on a large scale in the country due to
Washington, USA, the University of California, and Ohio the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Many sectors have benefited
State University. It has come to light that the Swachh Bharat from the construction of crores of toilets in the past years.
Mission is saving the lives of 60 to 70 thousand children People have got jobs. Masons, plumbers, and labourers have
every year. According to the World Health Organisation, got new opportunities in the villages. UNICEF estimates that
3 lakh lives have been saved between 2014 and 2019, about 1.25 crore people have received some economic benefit
which were lost due to diarrhoea. UNICEF reports that and employment due to this mission. It is estimated that by
more than 90% of women are now feeling safe due to the the end of this decade, 65 lakh new jobs will be created in
construction of toilets in their homes. The number of this sector. Today, fertiliser, biogas, electricity, and items like
infectious diseases in women has also reduced due to the charcoal for laying on roads are being made from household
Swachh Bharat Mission. The dropout rate has reduced due waste. For the success of the mission, the Bill and Melinda
to the construction of separate toilets for girls in lakhs of Gates Foundation also honoured PM Narendra Modi with
schools. There is another study by UNICEF. According to the Global Goalkeeper Award in September 2019. Then, PM
this, due to cleanliness, an average of 50 thousand rupees is Modi had said that today the whole world wants to learn and
being saved every year for the village families. adopt India’s model of the Swachhata Abhiyan.

outcomes to those that set a new direction.The which takes time to manifest. The Swachh Bharat
first-level impact refers merely to the natural result or Mission has not remained limited to just the first-level
the achievement of the set objective. The second-lev- impact - that is, achieving its basic goals - but has
el impact brings about a change in the standard of also brought about second- and third-level impacts,
living. The third-level impact is far-reaching and deep, guiding the nation towards a new direction. n

October 1-15, 2025 || NEW INDIA SAMACHAR 41