Page 3 - Swachh Bharat

Sikkim tops in Swachh Bharat survey

Bihar ranks lowest among states

Short films competition on 'Swachh Bharat'

Duration of film should not be more than 2 to 3 minutes, it should be shot in HD format, film can be made in any listed official languages of India

Sunanda K Datta-Ray: Swachh Bharat - do we really need an Abhiyan?

If cleanliness really is the aim, all the government needs to do is ensure the army of cleaners, who are already paid full wages, do the work for which they are paid

Now schools to get 'Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar'

The HRD Ministry will confer national-level award to 100 schools which have taken significant steps towards fulfilling the mandate of the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign. According to the guidelines of the award -- 'Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar' 2016, all government schools in both rural and urban areas are eligible for it. 100 schools each at elementary and secondary level will be awarded at the national level (30 urban and 70 rural), while many more schools will get state-level and district-level awards. Schools will be rated on yardsticks like availability of water, clean toilet, handwashing with soap, operations and maintenance, behaviour change, capacity building, as per the guidelines, and on the basis of these criteria, schools will be given ratings, officials said.

Take up cleanliness drive for Swachh Bharat: Govt tells cos

Taking forward its agenda for Swachh Bharat, government has asked corporates to carry out cleanliness drive for a fortnight as well as take pledge in this regard. Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the Companies Act, has asked firms and other stakeholders to carry out activities related to cleanliness for a fortnight as part of the 'Swachhata Pakhwada'. Officials associated with the initiative said it is a voluntary exercise aimed at promoting cleanliness. 'Swachhata Pakhwada', started on June 16, would be on till June 30. Each day, the Ministry is suggesting a particular activity like 'always keep your table clean' to ensure cleanliness. The three apex institutes of chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries along with industry bodies -- Ficci, CII and Assocham -- are part of the 'Swachhata Pakhwada'. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) have also joined hands with the Ministry .

Jaitley stresses on integrated communication strategy for success of 'Swachh Bharat Mission', 'Namami Gange'

An integrated communication strategy incorporating key messages, tools, outreach and innovation would be critical for enhancing the awareness, visibility, ownership and behaviour change for the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' and 'Namami Gange'.Union Finance Minister, Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Finance & Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley said this while chairing the first meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) to strategise Communication Roadmap for Swachh Bharat and Ganga Rejuvenation here on Wednesday.For the strategy to be effective further, he said, certain key elements needed to be incorporated in the communication approach.Elaborating further, he said the content for the messages to be used needed to be linked with the target audience. "The messages for both the Missions ought to reinforce each other. For an effective outreach and impact it was critical to identify the effective mass media forums for both urban and rural areas," he added.The minister also ...

Govt to include forests under Swachh Bharat

Environment ministry planning to ban plastic bags, dustbins inside reserves

AIGMF joins hand with Swachh Bharat to promote glass

The All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation (AIGMF) has joined hands with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to promote glass as a sustainable packaging material. "Ever since the announcement made by the government on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign) and Smart Cities, Glass Industry has made sincere efforts to showcase glass as an excellent building material for smart and solar cities. Similarly, glass being a sustainable packaging material supplements Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," AIGMF President Sanjay Ganjoo said here today. An interactive session supporting Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was held here in association with Central Glass and Ceramics Research Institute. AIGMF Senior VP A K Dukkipati quoting a Swedish report said plastic packaging contaminates food with endocrine disrupting chemicals.

PM Modi lauds retired govt. employee's contribution to Swachh Bharat Kosh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded retired government employee Chandrakant Kulkarni for donating one-third of his pension to the Swachh Bharat Kosh."A retired government employee giving almost a third of his pension for a Swachh Bharat. What can be a greater inspiration?" he said while addressing the nation in the 21st edition of his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme.Kulkarni yesterday presented 52 post-dated cheques, worth Rs. 2,60,000 towards the Swachh Bharat Kosh to Prime Minister Modi during the latter's visit to Pune.Kulkarni donated almost a third of his pension from June 2015 to Sept 2019 to the Swachh Bharat Kosh.The Swachh Bharat Kosh has been set up by the government to facilitate channelization of philanthropic contributions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds towards the Clean India Campaign as individuals and philanthropists expressed interest in contributing to efforts to achieve the objective of 'Swachh Bharat' by the year 2019.

Recruit 'swachh' officers in probe agencies: Cabinet Secretary

Officers who are "swachh" and whose integrity are above board need to be selected to work in investigating agencies like CBI and ED, Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha said today. Giving a pep talk to Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs)--who act as distant arm of Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption in various government organisations, he also emphasised on quick decision making by bureaucrats and on the need to check harassment of any bonafide decisions made by them. Sinha said the officers and personnel who man vigilance organisations and investigative agencies need to be very carefully selected. "We often hear of complaints even in these organisations, unless you go meet them (officers) or unless you go and meet them several times, things do not happen. That is something that should never happen. "Nobody should ever be able to require to come here (CVC) and explain. And so the selection of officers have to be swachh (clean)," said the country's top bureaucrat, .

Cleanse BJP first instead of 'Swachh Bharat': NCP tells PM

In a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the cleanliness drive, senior NCP leader Praful Patel today said he should first set the BJP's house in order. "It would be appropriate on the part of Prime Minister to cleanse the BJP first instead of making a propaganda about 'Swachh Bharat'," the former Union minister told reporters here. His comments came in an apparent reference to allegations of corruption against senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse who resigned recently as Revenue Minister. Patel claimed that no section of society is satisfied with the performance of the state and Central governments. "It is unfortunate that BJP leaders like chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari have not brought any development to Vidarbha," Patel said. He said the NCP would contest the forthcoming elections to the local bodies and municipal councils in the state on its own strength. Patel alleged that no development in real terms came to Vidarbha despite the CM signing

Letters: Animal testing alternative

First it was the Swachh Bharat campaign for a clean and hygienic India, then there was the public clamour for ensuring swachh udar (clean stomach) following the revelations of health hazards emanating from processed food. Now there seems to be a swachh antaratma (clean conscience) initiative from the government attempting to stop animal testing.Efforts to substitute the despicable practice of animal testing are not new in India. Bharatnatyam dancer and animal rights activist, the late Rukmini Devi Arundale, as a private member of the Rajya Sabha introduced a Bill in 1952 for the prevention of cruelty to animals. To her credit, the Bill was enacted in 1960. In 2012, after being prevailed upon by PETA, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued guidelines to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to replace dissection and experimentation on animals for training purposes in undergraduate and postgraduate courses with computer-aided learning and simulators. In 2014, the UGC, on the int

Clean India Mission: Centre plans national-level helpline

Beginning Monday, all central government ministries are also observing thematic cleanliness drive

Swachh Bharat: Need to take science along with us, says Expert

Noting that physical cleaning cannot be carried out all over the country by employing as many cleaners.