India’s Sanitation Journey

Why in News?

Recently, World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis and the importance of safe toilets for all.

What is world toilet day?

• Observed on – November 19 of every year.
• Officially designated as a United Nations observance in 2013.
• Importance – It highlights toilets as vital for health, dignity, equality, and sustainability.
• Supports SDG – It directly supports Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, aiming for universal access by 2030.

What is the importance of proper sanitation?

• Basic need – Access to safe toilets and proper sanitation is essential for public health, dignity, and environmental sustainability.
• Disease reduction and environmental protection – Improved sanitation reduces waterborne diseases, enhances productivity, and safeguards the environment.
• Promotes equality – It also empowers women and children by providing safety, privacy, and better educational opportunities.
• Ensures dignity – In today’s era of climate change, rapid urban expansion, and persistent inequality, secure sanitation continues to be a foundation for human dignity, community well-being, and sustainable progress.

What are the schemes and programmes in India to promote sanitation and hygiene?

• Swatch Bharat Mission (SBM) – It has been the flagship program, aiming to eliminate open defecation and provide universal toilet access in both rural and urban areas.
• India has seen a transformation in its sanitation drive since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which transformed access to toilets and hygiene facilities across rural and urban areas.
• Launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (2014) – Announced on 2nd October 2014, the mission aimed to eliminate open defecation and improve solid and liquid waste management.
• 2 components:
  • SBM – Gramin (rural)
  • SBM – Urban (cities and towns).
• Under this initiative in October 2019, all villages, districts, and states were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
• Outcomes of SBM Phase I
  • Health Gains – WHO estimated 300,000 fewer diarrheal deaths in 2019 versus 2014, linked to improved sanitation.
  • Economic Savings – Households in ODF villages reduced health-related expenses by nearly INR 50,000 each year.
  • Environmental Protection – ODF regions recorded notable declines in groundwater pollution levels.
  • Women’s Safety and Dignity – With expanded toilet access, 93% of women expressed feeling safer within their homes.
• Building on these milestones, SBM (Gramin) Phase II focuses on sustaining ODF outcomes and advancing integrated solid and liquid waste management to achieve ‘Sampoorn Swachhata’.
• Phase II of SBM (Gramin) – It was introduced in 2020 to guarantee universal access to household toilets and effective waste management, with the objective of transforming villages into ODF Plus Models.
• Key objective – To sustain the ODF status of villages and to improve the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through solid and liquid waste management activities.
• To make all villages ODF Plus Model, which includes ODF Sustainability, Solid and Liquid Waste Management, and Visual Cleanliness.
• ODF Plus Village – It is defined as a village which sustains its Open Defecation Free (ODF) Status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.
• There are 3 progressive stages of ODF Plus villages:
  • ODF Plus Aspiring – A Village which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for Solid Waste Management OR Liquid Waste Management.
  • ODF Plus Rising – A village which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for BOTH Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management.
  • ODF Plus Model – A village which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management; observes visual cleanliness, and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication (IEC) messages.
• India’s progress in sanitation under the Swachh Bharat Mission reflects a clear shift from access to sustainability.
• In rural areas, villages have steadily advanced from being declared open defecation free to achieving ODF Plus and ODF Plus Model status, showing strong community participation in maintaining facilities.
• Urban centers, meanwhile, have surpassed targets for household and public toilet construction, ensuring that sanitation infrastructure keeps pace with growing populations.
• ODF Plus Plus – It refers to an area where there is no open defecation and all toilets are functional and well-maintained, and all faecal sludge and sewage are safely managed and treated without being discharged into open drains or water bodies.

India’s Swachh Bharat Mission is often highlighted by the UN bodies such as UNICEF as one of the largest sanitation drives globally, showcasing how national action can contribute to global goals.

• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) – It was launched in 2015, focusing on the development of basic infrastructure in urban areas, in the sectors of water supply, sewerage, and septage management.
• AMRUT 2.0 – It was launched in 2021 in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/Cities.
• Providing universal coverage of sewerage and septage management in 500 AMRUT cities is one of the major focus areas of AMRUT 2.0.
• Jal Jeevan Mission – It was launched in August 2019, apart from providing safe and ample drinking water to all rural households, also focuses on sanitation & maintenance of open-defecation-free (ODF) villages.

What lies ahead?

• India’s sanitation journey reflects a transformation from addressing open defecation to building sustainable systems of hygiene and waste management.
• Through initiatives like the Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT, and the Jal Jeevan Mission, the country has moved beyond infrastructure creation to ensuring dignity, inclusivity, and long-term cleanliness.
• With observance of important events like International Toilet Day, these efforts not only strengthen public health but also align with global commitments under Sustainable Development Goal 6, positioning India as a leader in advancing safe sanitation for all.

Reference

PIB| Sanitation in India

The Threat of Digital Tradecraft in Terrorism

Why in News?  

Recently, a car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort on November 10, killing at least 15 people and injuring over 30, has revealed the use of advanced digital tradecraft in terrorist attacks.

What were the major findings of the investigation?

• Encrypted communication – The trio is alleged to have communicated via the Swiss messaging app Threema, a platform known for its high privacy design.
• Threema does not require a phone number or email to register, instead it assigns users a random user ID unlinked to any personal identifier.
• Investigators suspect that the three accused may have established their own private Threema server, creating a closed, isolated network through which they shared maps, layouts, documents, and instructions.
• The server may have been hosted either within India or abroad (investigations are ongoing as to its origin).

Threema’s architecture is particularly useful to evade detection because it offers end-to-end encryption, no storage of metadata, and allows message deletion from both ends.

• These features make it extremely difficult for digital forensics teams to reconstruct full communication chains.
• Sharing information using ‘dead-drop emails’ – In what is being described as a classic “spy-style” technique, the suspects apparently used a shared email account (accessible to all module members) to communicate via unsent drafts.
• Instead of sending messages, they would save drafts; another member would log in, read or update them, and delete them — leaving no outgoing or incoming record on conventional mail logs.
• This method, sometimes referred to as a “dead drop,” is particularly insidious because it generates almost no digital footprint.
• Reconnaissance and ammunition stockpiling – As per interrogations and forensic data, the accused conducted multiple recce missions in Delhi before the attack.
• Investigators allege that ammonium nitrate, a powerful industrial explosive, was stockpiled, possibly via a red EcoSport vehicle that has now been seized.
• The use of a familiar vehicle, rather than something more suspicious, may have helped the module remain under the radar during logistics buildup.
• Operational discipline and external linkages – Sources suggest that Dr. Umar, who was reportedly the driver of the car that caused the blast, “switched off his phones” and cut digital ties after the arrest of his associates, a sophisticated tactic to limit exposure.
• Moreover, though investigations are ongoing, some sources suggest that the attack has links with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) or was following a JeM-inspired module.
• The layered communication architecture — Encrypted apps, dead-drop emails, coupled with infrequent but deliberate physical recces, suggests a cell that counts operational security among its highest priorities.

What are the implications?

• Surveillance ineffectiveness – As more terror modules adopt privacy-preserving technologies, traditional surveillance such as phone tapping, metadata collection, and email intercepts have become less effective.
• This should force law enforcement agencies to rethink investigative architectures.
• Use of banned apps and proxies – Threema is reportedly banned in India (under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000), yet the suspects seem to have continued using it via VPNs and foreign proxies.
• This suggests that bans alone may not stem the misuse of such apps, especially by sophisticated operators.
• Investigators need advanced capabilities such as being able to track private servers, reverse engineer encrypted networks, and apply memory forensics to trace such modules.
• Standard device seizures may not be sufficient without specialised technical expertise.
• Potential of big network – Moreover, if a link to external handlers (such as the JeM) is proved to be true, this attack may be part of a wider network.
• The level of planning and security discipline shown suggests not a lone cell, but a well-trained, possibly transnational, group.

What are some policy solutions?

• Build a dedicated digital forensics teams – There is a necessity to establish and expand teams skilled in encrypted-platform analysis, server forensics, and memory dumping to recover ephemeral data.
• The government should invest in units that specifically monitor misuse of E2EE platforms, anonymising services, and VPN exit nodes for potential terror tradecraft.
• Regulation of self-hosted communication infrastructure – The state needs to craft regulatory frameworks mandating private servers hosting communication platforms to comply with lawful access obligations, while balancing privacy rights.
• Cooperation with technology providers needs to be encouraged in order to enable lawful interception under strictly controlled, judicially-supervised processes.
• Legal frameworks need to be enhanced – Counter-terrorism laws need to be updated so that it explicitly addresses threats posed by encrypted, decentralised communication.
• Introduce or refine digital dead-drop detection mechanisms in investigations.
• Law enforcement should be trained to look for shared accounts, draft-only mailboxes, and similar tradecraft.
• Prioritising community and institutional engagement – The fact that the suspects were reportedly doctors from a university is deeply concerning; such institutions need support to detect radicalisation early.
• Counter-radicalisation programs tailored to highly educated recruits may be deployed.
• Modules operating in professional spaces (doctors, academics) are often less visible, but may wield more technical or ideological sophistication.
• Strengthening International collaboration – Given the possible transnational nature (encrypted apps, private servers, cross-border funding) of the attack, the state should deepen cooperation with foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
• It should also encourage tech diplomacy, and engage with countries where encrypted-messaging apps like Threema are based to explore lawful but privacy-respecting access to self-hosted infrastructure linked to terror cases.
• There should also be public awareness about how modern terror cells operate.

What lies ahead?

• The Red Fort blast investigation illustrates how modern terrorist modules are evolving rapidly.
• They no longer rely solely on brute force or mass propaganda  they are integrating advanced digital tradecraft with traditional radicalisation and operational planning.
• These developments resonate strongly with academic insights into extremist behaviour in the digital age.
• As violent actors become more technically adept, states too must adapt , not just by strengthening brute-force capacity, but by cultivating sophisticated, multidisciplinary intelligence, cyber-forensics, and legal tools.
• For India and democracies globally, this case is a sobering reminder that the next frontier in counter-terrorism is not just on the physical terrain, but also in encrypted, decentralised, and deeply private digital spaces.
• If we are to safeguard our cities and societies, we must meet this threat not only on the streets and borders, but also on servers and in code.

Reference

The Hindu| Digital Tradecraft in Terrorism