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Saturday, April 4, 2026
TopicOpen defecation

Topic: open defecation

On World Toilet Day, a look at India’s sanitation data and the ground realities

Every year on 19 November, the UN celebrates World Toilet Day to create awareness about the 4.2 billion people who are living without ‘safely managed sanitation’.

Study finds Indian households with female children reduce practice of open defecation

The study found a reduction in open defecation owing to a firstborn child being a girl far greater in poor urban households than richer ones.

More people in rural India defecate in open than what govt’s household survey shows: Study

India’s Demographic and Health Survey that asks household-level questions greatly underestimates open defecation among households with latrines.

Roshni, the Shivpuri Dalit girl killed for ‘open defecation’, wanted to become a doctor

Roshni, 12, and her minor nephew Avinash were beaten to death in MP for allegedly defecating in the open, triggering a wave of shame and anger in the country.

This Delhi village was declared open defecation-free by its BJP MP in 2018. Except it isn’t

North-West Delhi MP Udit Raj had declared Jheemarpura ODF in May 2018, but residents still complain of a lack of toilets and other infrastructure.

Use of public toilets costs slum dwellers 104 times what those with own toilets spend

Study suggests the high user charges are undermining the benefits of the Modi government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

The Indian state where development is more on a par with Pakistan than India

Like Pakistan, Uttar Pradesh is home to about 200 million people, which it can’t seem to take care of very well.

Modi wants open defecation-free India but his own adopted village paints a dirty picture

Rural Development Ministry data shows Modi's village Nagepur in Varanasi is not open defecation-free, scores zero out of three.

Gujarat ‘open defecation-free’, but CAG flushes Modi govt’s claim down the toilet

The CAG report, tabled in Gujarat assembly, shows nearly 30% of the households in 120 gram panchayats do not have toilets. 

Bangladesh and Tanzania have a lesson or two for India on open defecation

Like Bangladesh and Tanzania, India can adopt strategies that generate shame and disgust to trigger collective action.

On Camera

This is how Strait of Hormuz shock is forcing a global trade reset

The current Iran war has laid bare a fundamental reality: 20 per cent of global energy trade cannot afford to rely on a single artery, no matter how resilient and cost-effective.

SEBI proposes return of open market share buybacks to support stocks

Regulator seeks feedback on allowing firms to repurchase shares via exchanges after tax changes, as markets reel from war-led selloff and foreign outflows.

South Korea’s Cheongung-II missile system makes its mark in West Asia war. Here’s why

UAE has been using this defence system, which is similar to America's Patriots, against Iranian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Gulf war exposed India’s fragilities. It’s time for navel-gazing, in the national interest

It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.