When the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched in 2014, it transformed India’s sanitation landscape. In 11 years, over 12 crore toilets were built across the country, reducing open defecation and improving public health. The change that SBM brought, especially to the lives of women, was profound. Better sanitation meant greater safety, fewer infections, and dignity.

But there is a missing piece in this story of progress. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), there are 29.17 crore households in the country. Rural households account for 19.38 crore (66.4%) and urban households for 8.72 crore (33.6%) (HCES/MoSPI 2021-22 / 2022-23 household counts). As per the NSSO 2012 survey, 62.3% of rural households and 16.7% of urban households did not have any

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