GS-2

Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

By: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Aim:

SBM-G seeks to eliminate open defecation in rural areas by 2019 through improving access to sanitation.
Seeks to generate awareness to motivate communities to adopt sustainable sanitation practices, and encourage the use of appropriate technologies for sanitation.

Key objectives of SBM-G include:

Improving the quality of life in rural areas through promoting cleanliness and eliminating open defecation by 2019
Motivating communities and Panchayati raj institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices
Encouraging appropriate technologies for sustainable sanitation
Developing community managed solid and liquid waste management systems

Implementation mechanisms at the five levels will consist of:

National Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
State Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
District Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
Block Programme Management Unit
Gram Panchayat/Village and Water Sanitation Committee – Swachhta Doots may be hired to assist with activities such as identification of beneficiaries, IEC, and maintenance of records.

The key components of the implementation of SBM-G will include:

Start-up activities including preparation of state plans
IEC activities
capacity building of functionaries
construction of household toilets
construction of community sanitary complexes
a revolving fund at the district level to assist Self Help Groups and others in providing cheap finance to their members
funds for rural sanitary marts, where materials for the construction of toilets, etc., may be purchased
funds for solid and liquid waste management. Under SBM-G, construction of toilets in government schools and aganwadis will be done by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Women and Child Development, respectively.

The four major challenges we faced were the 4 Ss:

Scale — 550 million people needed to change their behaviour;
Speed — the programme had to be implemented in 5 years
Stigma — centuries-old taboos, for example, it was impure to have a toilet inside or near the home, needed to be challenged
Sustainability — having to make the recently changed behaviour stick. There was little prior experience of doing all this, which made the learning curve, and the degree of difficulty, even steeper.

Four clear success factors were the 4 P’s:

Political Push: Sanitation was brought into the national consciousness by none other than the Prime Minister of India, and that too in his first major address to the nation. This established sanitation and cleanliness as central to his vision for India. He gave the nation a time-bound goal to work towards achieving a clean and open defecation free India by October 2, 2019. This injected a sense of urgency in the entire administrative system at the Centre, state and district levels and made them prioritise a much-neglected problem.

Public finance: India has the world’s largest government rural sanitation budget, in excess of $20 billion. The SBM also provides significant financial incentive to socially and economically weaker sections to construct and use toilets, at Rs 12,000 per eligible household.

Partnerships: SBM has built several strategic partnerships to mainstream sanitation in all sectors. Various national and international developmental agencies and corporates have supported the mission. These strategic partnerships have helped the mission spread its learnings and best practices on behaviour-change rapidly, as well as improve implementation across the country.

People’s participation: SBM has scaled up sanitation by involving all sections of society from filmstars to sportspersons to religious leaders to the common man. SBM is a classic example of the power of the collective and the extraordinary results that can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

Must Read: Rural Sanitation and Swacchh Bharat

Cabinet approves

MoU between India and Bolivia on Cooperation in the field of Geology and Mineral Resources:

It will provide an institutional mechanism between India and Bolivia for cooperation in the field of Mineral Resources.
The MoU provides for exchange of information on resources, laws and policy, organization of seminars to exchange views on development strategies, encouragement of transfer of technologies between the two countries, promotion of value addition, which will enable taking up of activities like documentation and dissemination etc.

MoU between India and Cambodia on Cooperation in the field of Communications

MoU between India and Bolivia on Cooperation in the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy:

The MoU will provide a framework for cooperation, and will be mutually beneficial between the two countries for promotion of traditional systems of medicine and homoeopathy.
It will lead to promotion and propagation of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy in Bolivia, and will boost the importance of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) systems of Medicine in Bolivia.
The MoU will further facilitate exchange of experts for training for the practitioners and Scientists undertaking collaborative research, which will lead to new innovations in drug development and practice in Traditional Systems of Medicine.

Cooperation Agreement between India and Denmark in the field of Renewable Energy with focus on Offshore Wind Energy:

Objective: To promote cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy with special focus on Off-shore wind.
The areas of cooperation would include technical capacity building for management of offshore wind projects, measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient wind industry, onshore as well as offshore; measures to 'ensure high quality of wind turbines, components, and certification requirements; forecasting and scheduling of off-shore wind
The Indo-Danish Centre of Excellence in Integrated Renewable Power would work on Renewable energy resource assessments with focus on onshore and offshore wind; Hybridisation of wind, solar, hydro and storage technologies; integration of renewable energy inch high level of wind energy, Testing and R&D; and skill development / capacity building.

Continuation of Phase 4 of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV): The GSLV Programme - Phase 4 will enable the launch of 2 tonne class of satellites for Geo-imaging, Navigation, Data Relay Communication and Space Sciences.

The GSLV Continuation Programme - Phase 4 will meet the launch requirement of satellites for providing critical Satellite Navigation Services, Data Relay Communication for supporting the Indian Human spaceflight programme and the next interplanetary mission to Mars. This will also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry.
The operationalization of GSLV has made the country self-reliant in the launching capability of 2 tonne class of satellites for communication & meteorological satellites. The GSLV Continuation Programme will sustain & strengthen the capability and self-reliance in the launching of similar satellites for national requirements including next generation navigation satellites, data relay communication satellites and interplanetary missions.

Please Note:

'Nirbhay' Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile

It is the sixth development flight trial with objective to prove the repeatability of boost phase, cruise phase using way point navigation at very low altitudes.
The missile took off vertically turning horizontally into desired direction, booster separated, wing deployed, engine started, cruised all the intended waypoints.
The missile demonstrated its sea-skimming capability to cruise at very low altitudes.

Quotes

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

On Governance

The crux of the entire governance paradigm is implementation, how well is the delivery mechanism functioning.
Explore creative alternatives to the status quo and take steps to strengthen the dialogue with people and make them partners in the progress of the nation.
Even for the best of the systems, there is always a possibility to become better.
Each citizen and person in country must feel that there was a perceptible improvement in the quality of life, he urged officers to civil services adopt, adapt and scale up best practices to facilitate the common man.
Maintain professional competence and become constant learners of technology, policy and the world to serve the people better.
Keep learning and absorb the best practices within and outside India, from both the private as well as the public sector

On Climate Change

Low-carbon, green and climate resilient urban infrastructure is the need of the hour
Creation of green infra, solar & water conservation must form part of town planning
Promote Public Transport, reduce dependency on fossil fuel
Education, entertainment, enhanced medical facilities and employment were the main drivers of migration. He asked for collaborative efforts of governments at state and centre to reduce the divide by providing urban amenities in rural areas.
Called for measures to ensure that urban solid waste is converted wealth by learning from the best practices followed globally.
One must draw inspiration from our cultural roots, especially the civilizational values that revered and urged us to protect natural resources, he said that adopting green solutions, providing good governance and building urban resilience was the way forward.
Need to up-scale climate mitigation measures to reduce climate-related risks in the future.