Turning the spotlight on sanitation

India’s poor sanitation facilities and lack of sanitation awareness have proved to be highly detrimental to the country’s economic growth. But thanks to the Swacch Bharat campaign, religious leaders, cine stars, sports icons, industrialists have been propogating the awareness and funds to the tune of Rs. 63,000 crore has been provided for the Clean India programme for the next five years and all the ministries are working on budgets, says Praveen Prakash, National Mission Director of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). Incidentally, The Rotterdam headquartered developer of innovative social enterprises – Enviu, with financial support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s grant is gearing up to start the programme SaniNation to develop businesses in the Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) sector in India. SaniNation will curate business programmes based on waste resource and treatment. This will open new doors into the untapped market of reusing human waste. Right now the possibilities presented are processing it into solid fuel, organic fertiliser, insect-based animal feed, biogas, or even building materials. Right now, human waste that is recklessly discharged into water ways, landfills and storm drains is leading to contamination of water sources and posing a potential threat to human health and environment.