In rural areas, where nearly 69 per cent of India’s population lives, 69.3 per cent of households lack toilets. At first glance, such statistics and technological capabilities alongside large-scale open defecation is a puzzle. From the mid-1980s till the late 1990s when India adopted economic reform, toilets were distributed free via the top-down state-funded Central Rural Sanitation Programme. But for India, providing access to some form of a toilet is the easy part. For India, it is easier to take part in exploratory missions to Mars than to tackle its sanitation challenge.

Source: Standard Digital January 12, 2021 05:56 UTC