PM Modi to get award from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to receive an award from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for one of his ambitious projects- Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA). This award will be conferred to him during his visit to United States in late September 2019.

About Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan

Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by PM Modi in 2014, to improve the overall cleanliness in the country and eliminate open defecation nationwide in five years.

Its components include construction of household toilets, community and public toilets and solid waste management (SWM).

The mission has two thrusts-

(1) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (rural): It operates under Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

(2) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (urban): It operates under Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

About Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

It is a private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda Gates.

It was launched in 2000 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

It is reported to be largest private foundation in world, holding $50.7 billion in assets.

Puducherry bags top position in National Clean School Award given by HRD Ministry

Union Territory of Puducherry has bagged top position in National Clean School Award after seven schools from Puducherry were awarded for cleanliness. As many as 52 schools from across the country were bestowed with National Clean School Award in recognition of their efforts in carrying forward Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Key Facts

Tamil Nadu bagged second position in National Clean School Award. The third position was shared by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Fourth position was shared by Jharkhand, Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Three schools from each state made it for the award. National Clean School Award ranking and the list were issued by Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and was prepared by National Institute of Cleanliness Education and Research (NICER).