Swachh Bharat Mission: Scaling up the Mission to Make Rural India Open Defecation Free (C)

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Abstract

This case is the third of a three-part series that follows the managerial, strategic, and communications decisions of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission, the flagship programme of the Government of India to eliminate the practice of open defecation (i.e., not using a toilet) from 2014 to 2019. As of 2014, 550 million people in India practiced open defecation. This problem posed a massive public health hazard and economic drag for the country as well as a threat to global health. Written from an insider’s perspective, the cases centre on the decisions made by a new Secretary of India’s Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, who was hired to manage SBM, and the team he assembled. Case C discusses the team’s strategy to promote sanitation behaviour change, accelerate progress in states with particularly recalcitrant rates of open defecation, and monitor progress at a national scale. A key theme is how the team employed methods unconventional for a historically low-profile government ministry, including personalized attention to certain states, harnessing the power of stardom to communicate key messages, and continuing to leverage political commitment from the Central (Federal) government. The case ends with a sense of achievement but outlines the issues that could threaten the sustainability of the gains made in toilet. Readers are challenged to analyse how lessons from SBM could inform public policies for eliminating open defecation in other countries.

Additional Information

Product Type Case
Reference No. JSW0001(C)
Title Swachh Bharat Mission: Scaling up the Mission to Make Rural India Open Defecation Free (C)
Pages 15
Published on Apr 27, 2022
Year of Event 2017-2019
Authors Iyer, Parameswaran; Pandey, Ajay; Vashisht, Mahima; Smith Daniel W;
Area JSW School of Public Policy (JSW)
Discipline Public Policy and Law
Sector Government
Learning Objective To evaluate strategies for implementing large-scale, time-bound public programs with infrastructure and behaviour change components. To analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different strategies available for promoting society-wide, large-scale attitudinal and behavioural change. To analyse factors that may sustain a “new” normal within a workplace or broadly in society or may lead to relapse back to the “old” one.
Keywords Open Defecation; Mission Mode Program Implementation; Large-scale Behavioral Change
Country India
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