Gates Foundation to honor PM Modi for Swachh Bharat

  1. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive an award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
  2. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a cleanliness campaign initiated by Govt. of India in 2014. It seeks to achieve a Clean India by 2019, as a tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
  3. It has two sub-missions. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban):
  4. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)  aims to improve the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making villages Open Defecation Free (ODF) and clean. It is implemented by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Jal Shakti Ministry
  5. Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) aims at elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices. It is implemented by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs