World Bank approved $1.5 Billion loan to support the Government of India: Things you should know

The World Bank approved $1.5 Billion loan to support the Government of India for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign. The Government of India is making all efforts and is doing its best to ensure that all rural citizens have access to clean and improved sanitation, with an aim to end open defecation by 2019.

The World Bank Country Director of India, Onno Ruhl said, "One in every ten deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation. And studies show that low-income households bear the maximum brunt of poor sanitation. This project, aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Initiative of the government, will result in significant health benefits for the poor and vulnerable, especially those living in rural areas."

Some important things that you must know about Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:

• The campaign was launched on October 2, 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi. Narendra Modi himself cleaned the road

• Narendra Modi said that the best memorial to Mahatma Gandhi would be to achieve 'Clean India' by October 2, 2019, on his 150th birth anniversary

• Since November 15, 2015, Government of India imposed a Swachh Bharat Cess on Service Tax at the rate of 0.5 per cent

• The government plans to construct 12 crore toilets in rural India by October 2019

• The projected cost of the plan is estimated around Rs 1.96 lakh crore, i.e. $29 billion.

     

      Source: indiatoday.in