Behaviour change at many levels needed to make India open defecation-free

National Consultation on Rural Sanitation calls for triggering mindset change, but lack of credible data on health and sanitation is a challenge

Not yet clean

Swachh Bharat Mission completes two years, but India is far from achieving its goal.

Inaugural issue of Down To Earth Hindi exposes poor progress of Swachh Bharat Mission

Besides pointing out the associated risks of poor sanitation, the analysis also shows the enormous challenge before the NDA government

Smart city financing laden with trouble

Allocation of funds is not equitable even as local bodies face difficulties in generating money

Half the public places do not manage waste water and litter

A government survey of 16 states in India finds that 51% and 53% public spaces in hills and plains respectively have unhygienic surroundings

Poor sanitation cost India 5.2% of its GDP

Lack of access to sanitation wiped off US $106.7 billion from India's GDP in 2015. It is almost half of the total global losses

Drought hinders efforts to make Maharashtra open defecation-free

The drought scenario in Maharashtra forces us to think what will happen to the ambitious plan of making the state 100 per cent Open Defecation-free

No more N-I-M-B-Y

Our excessive reliance on 'others' to manage 'our' waste has let the situation go out of hand

How true were PM Modi’s claims made during Independence Day speech?

A probing look into his claims reveals that not all that he said is in sync with the official data

PM Modi’s Independence Day speech focuses on food security, clean energy

Social justice, clean energy, agricultural reforms and rural electrification find mention in PM Modi's speech

From health to faith, everything at stake for refugees in Greece

Tens of thousands of these migrants now feel trapped in a country that is least equipped to provide care

India needs to adopt nature-friendly sanitation technologies

Making design changes in toilets that conserve water and do not create sewage is the key to ecological sanitation

Globally, one in four children is stunted

India is home to the largest number of stunted children in the world

Unused toilets prompt Haryana to tweak Swachh Bharat Mission

State adds 'cleanliness' as important prerequisite for receiving subsidy

World Toilet Day: India needs one toilet every two seconds to achieve target by 2019

The need to construct toilets per minute has increased from 35 to 41; target may stretch up to 2035 due to extremely slow pace

Roadblocks for bio-toilets in India

Bio-toilets are gaining ground. But emerging challenges could defeat the purpose

It’s a fallacy that all Australians have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene

Drinking water in remote communities is contaminated with uranium, faecal bacteria and nitrates above the recommended levels

Highlights of Sunita Narain’s speech at IDS Conference in UK

According to her, the world cannot succeed in environmental management unless we achieve inclusive economic growth

Two years of Modi government: A civil society review

According to a report, government allocation in most social sectors do not address critical concerns in health, education and civic …

Are we really getting a clean Ganga by 2019?

We have already lost 30 years after the launch of the first Ganga cleaning programme. It is time to take strong and quick actions on the ground.

World awakes to new danger: use of water as weapon of war

Using water as a weapon to weaken people is a tactic used in Syria, other countries of West Asia and Africa

Flush with finance

Microfinance is helping poor people construct toilets in Tamil Nadu

How to reinvent the sanitation wheel

The city “shit-flow” diagram shows that the situation is grim as all cities either do not treat or safely dispose the bulk of the …

Usage of toilets in India is over 95 per cent, reveals new NSSO survey

This finding is, however, from a two-month rapid survey, considered too short by experts

Slums on rent

Dhaka has seen a sharp rise in privately owned slums. Are these a better alternative to 'squatter settlements' common in India?