India’s Sanitation for All: How to Make It Happen

This discussion paper examines the current state of sanitation services in India in relation to two goals—Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which calls on countries to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without improved sanitation facilities (from 1990 levels); and India’s more ambitious goal of providing “Sanitation for All” by 2012, established under its Total Sanitation Campaign. This paper discusses six recommendations that can help key stakeholders address the significant obstacles in providing universal sanitation coverage in India. These recommendations, listed below, are based largely on a recent Asian Development Bank (ADB) study—Sanitation in India: Progress, Differentials, Correlates, and Challenges—that looked at trends in access to household sanitation and drainage in India.