About 76 percent of rural habitations in India have achieved a fully covered (FC) status, under the National Rural Drinking Water Program, with basic minimum service level of 40 liters per capita daily (lpcd), but this coverage is primarily through hand-pumps and does not necessarily translate into sustainable and good quality service delivery.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) directly impact human health and have far reaching consequences when ignored. India is one of the fastest developing economies, but when it comes to WASH indicators, it continues to lag behind. With a population of over 1.2 billion, there is a mounting and urgent need to address sanitation.

About 76 percent of rural habitations in India have achieved a fully covered (FC) status, under the National Rural Drinking Water Program, with 40 liters per capita daily (lpcd), but this coverage is primarily through hand-pumps and does not necessarily translate into sustainable and good quality service delivery.

About 76 percent of rural habitations in India have achieved a fully covered (FC) status, under the National Rural Drinking Water Program, with 40 liters per capita daily (lpcd), but this coverage is primarily through hand-pumps and does not necessarily translate into sustainable and good quality service delivery.

Sikkim has been adjudged the cleanest state in the country with all its four districts ranked among top 10 districts in terms of sanitation and cleanliness.

Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin - SBM (G) endeavours to accelerate rural sanitation coverage, reduce open defecation and improve management of solid and liquid wastes. It focuses on ensuring usage of toilets along with their construction.

This report by WSSCC and FANSA gives voice to the sanitation and hygiene needs and aspirations of marginalised groups in India. It is the culmination of 18 consultations held between October and December 2015 with women and adolescents, the elderly and disabled, sanitation workers and transgender persons.

Proper awareness, collective behavior change, coupled with availability of sustainable technologies for construction and usage of toilets are important aspects of SBM. There are a wide range of hydro-geological conditions in different states of India. It is challenging to make one technology applicable in all areas.

Solid and liquid waste management are becoming issues of great concern in rural India. The changes in consumption patterns including that of people living in rural areas have an impact on the quantity and kind of wastes generated.

Management of solid or liquid wastes in rural areas is much easier than in urban areas due to the fact that there are no highly contaminated industrial wastes. In rural areas, most of the wastes can be safely reused for beneficial purposes with limited resources.