research-article

Role of Technology in Success of Rural Sanitation Revolution in India

Authors:

Seemantinee Sengupta,

Deepak Chandra Misra,

Marut Chaudhary,

Om PrakashAuthors Info & Claims

ICEGOV '19: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

Pages 6 - 11

https://doi.org/10.1145/3326365.3326367

Published: 03 April 2019 Publication History

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Abstract

Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin (SBM-G), translated in English as Clean India Mission - Rural, is a nation-wide campaign in India that aims to achieve universal sanitation coverage by October 02, 2019. Launched by Prime Minister of India on October 02, 2014, this programme is being implemented by the state governments under financial assistance and technical support of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India, which is the nodal agency for its implementation.

SBM-G is one of the largest behaviour change programme in the world, and the evidence shows it is on track to achieve its objectives. Sanitation coverage in rural India has increased from less than 40 per cent in 2014 to over 94 per cent by the end of fourth year of the programme, as more than 500 million people have adopted safe sanitation and given up open defecation.

Political will and leadership, and the strategy to emphasise on sustainability, differentiated SBM-G from previous sanitation programmes in India. An equally important contributor to the success of the programme, has been the effective use of technology during its various stages of implementation. Execution of the programme has been monitored and evaluated through a web based e-Governance solution (http://sbm.gov.in). Up to date information about 157 million beneficiaries and status of their household toilet facilities made available by the SBM-G database, formed the foundation that enabled all participating stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the progress in an efficient, effective and transparent manner. Social media and digital technologies have also been innovatively utilized in creating a mass cleanliness movement by engaging citizens, disseminating information, and organizing and managing all field level activities.

This experience paper describes how ICT was used to support the implementation of SBM-G. It also attempts to highlight key lessons in use of technology for other similar programmes, globally.

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Cited By

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Sakas ZUwah EBhattrai RGarn JGc KMutta ANdlovu KNyaboro FSingh RRinzin USnyder JWangdi KFreeman M(2022)Assessing Sustainability Factors for Rural Household Sanitation Coverage in Bhutan, Kenya, Nepal, and Zambia: A Qualitative AnalysisGlobal Health: Science and Practice10.9745/GHSP-D-21-0072410:6(e2100724)Online publication date: 12-Dec-2022
https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00724
Sarkar SBharat G(2021)Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in water and sanitation sectors in IndiaJournal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development10.2166/washdev.2021.00211:5(693-705)Online publication date: 9-Jul-2021
https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2021.002

Index Terms

Role of Technology in Success of Rural Sanitation Revolution in India
1. Applied computing
  1. Computers in other domains
    1. Computing in government
      1. E-government

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Published In

ICEGOV '19: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

April 2019

538 pages

ISBN:9781450366441

DOI:10.1145/3326365

Editors:
Soumaya Ben Dhaou
United Nations University (UNU-EGOV)
,
Lemuria Carter
University of New South Wales (UNSW)
,
Mark Gregory
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University)

© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery. ACM acknowledges that this contribution was authored or co-authored by an employee, contractor or affiliate of a national government. As such, the Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free right to publish or reproduce this article, or to allow others to do so, for Government purposes only.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 03 April 2019

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ICEGOV2019

ICEGOV2019: 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

April 3 - 5, 2019

VIC, Melbourne, Australia

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ICEGOV '19 Paper Acceptance Rate 81 of 171 submissions, 47%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 350 of 865 submissions, 40%

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Cited By

View all

Sakas ZUwah EBhattrai RGarn JGc KMutta ANdlovu KNyaboro FSingh RRinzin USnyder JWangdi KFreeman M(2022)Assessing Sustainability Factors for Rural Household Sanitation Coverage in Bhutan, Kenya, Nepal, and Zambia: A Qualitative AnalysisGlobal Health: Science and Practice10.9745/GHSP-D-21-0072410:6(e2100724)Online publication date: 12-Dec-2022
https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00724
Sarkar SBharat G(2021)Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in water and sanitation sectors in IndiaJournal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development10.2166/washdev.2021.00211:5(693-705)Online publication date: 9-Jul-2021
https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2021.002

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e-governance initiatives in India

A Step Towards Empowerment and Digital Inclusion of Rural Public in India

Transforming Rural e-Governance for Citizen Collaboration in India: Is Digital-Learning an Answer?