India extends rural sanitation scheme to March 2028
Headline and summary by local AI
The Indian government extended the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II until March 2028 to complete rural sanitation goals.
The Finance Ministry granted the extension following a request from the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. This move allows the government to allocate approximately Rs 7,000 crore for the program in the 2027-28 Union Budget.
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation must ensure all remaining villages achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status by the new deadline. This status requires a village to maintain its open defecation free standing while managing solid and liquid waste and remaining visually clean. The Finance Ministry stated that no further time extensions will be considered beyond the March 2028 date. The Union Cabinet originally approved the second phase of the scheme in 2020.
While the program was initially set to end in 2024-25, it was later pushed back to accommodate the 15th Finance Commission period. Currently, 5.70 lakh out of 5.86 lakh villages have already received their ODF Plus certification.
Selected and summarized by local AI How we work
Solutions: Technology, policy and initiatives already in use against a real problem, with results to show.
