Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

By Debashish Biswas India’s urban population is expected to grow from 377 million in 2011 (31% of total population) to around 600 million or 42% of the total population in 2030. It is estimated that in 2030, for five states – <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, urbanisation levels will be more than 50% (Sources: Census of India 2011, McKinsey Global Institute and <keyword id="13071722" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UN-World-Urbanisation-Prospects-2018" source="Orion">UN World Urbanisation Prospects 2018</keyword>). Indian cities will act as the engines of growth for the economy. As highlighted in the National Infrastructure Pipeline, an estimated ₹19,19,267 crores capital expenditure is estimated between FY20-FY25 in <keyword id="557969" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-infrastructure" source="Orion">urban infrastructure</keyword> (Source: National Infrastructure Pipeline, Volume 1). Around 21% of this capital expenditure is proposed to be funded through private sector participation. Given this, as part of Budget 2022-23, it is expected that urban sector development will continue to remain as one of the major focus areas. Budgetary allocations are expected to be made for: <ul><li>Strengthening core urban infrastructure – Continued investments to reinforce core urban infrastructure like water supply, solid waste management, urban mobility, among others. Recently, in October 2021, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced AMRUT 2.0 which focuses on enhancing water connections in around 4800 urban local bodies, sewerage/ septage services in 500 cities as well as rejuvenation of water bodies, green spaces and parks (Source: AMRUT 2.0 guidelines). Further, <keyword id="6735318" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="swachh-bharat-mission-urban" source="Orion">Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban</keyword> 2.0 was also announced in October 2021 with the aspiration of making all cities garbage free.</li><li>Housing to remain a key focus area – Housing, specially providing affordable housing for all, remains a key priority for the country. It is also important to provide necessary incentives and improve various regulatory processes to attract private investments in the housing sector, especially in affordable housing.</li><li>Developing smart digital infrastructure in terms of mobility management, digital service delivery, city management, safety and security, environmental management, etc. <keyword id="857936" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emphasis" source="Orion">Emphasis</keyword> may be provided on creating specific digital urban solutions leveraging the data being captured at the city level, specifically in the smart cities where the command control centers are already operational. Also, focus may be provided in creating cloud based shared digital infrastructure at state as well as district level so that even the smaller urban local bodies may get access and leverage digital infrastructure. </li><li>Environment and sustainability focus: Given the focus of building environmentally friendly and resilient cities, the budget may provide specific emphasis on developing sustainable urban areas including increasing green cover, urban forest, water conservation, water recycling, waste reuse, renewable energy usage, energy conservation, etc. On the mobility front, focus may be provided on further developing non-motorized transportation and electric vehicle infrastructure. For facilitating developing environmentally friendly infrastructure, necessary policies and incentives may be considered. Funding available under CSR activities may be leveraged for implementing various environmentally friendly infrastructure at city level.</li><li>Continue municipal reforms: To enable urban infrastructure growth, the ongoing municipal reforms should continue. These include -- a) strengthening municipal bond market – key steps to be undertaken by the urban local bodies are improving financial discipline; accounting reforms; improved governance and augment own source revenues; b) asset monetization and attracting private sector – creating an environment for attracting more private investments; and c) enabling user charges for funding urban infrastructure. Additional incentives may be provided to urban local bodies which undertake such overall reforms proactively. </li></ul>Overall, like last year, the current pandemic calls for a public investment led push for enabling economic growth. The FY 22-23 budget needs to focus on increased spending in overall urban infrastructure &amp; capital assets, which are likely to have a multiplier effect on demand generation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Further, higher urban infrastructure spend will improve investment attractiveness, create more employment opportunities and enhance quality of life. Debashish Biswas is Partner with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/economic-budget-survey-2022-government-projects-8-to-8-5-growth-rate-in-year-2022-23/slidelist/89242472.cms">India’s Economic Survey projects 8-8.5 percent growth next year, here are other key points to note</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/despite-a-worldwide-chip-shortage-semiconductor-sales-cross-500-billion-for-the-first-time/articleshow/89242629.cms">Despite a worldwide chip shortage, semiconductor sales cross $500 billion for the first time</a>

OPINION: There should be continued focus on building urban infrastructure and sustainable smart cities

<keyword id="6696781" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-development-ministry">Urban Development Ministry</keyword> today announced it would launch a mobile App for citizens to post their complaints about <keyword id="56059" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Garbage">garbage</keyword> pile-up in their areas and seek timely redress of their grievance. Named '<keyword id="3232838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-City-Solutions">Swachh City Solutions</keyword>', the proposed mobile and web-based application will be developed in partnership with an NGO 'Janaagraha' Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, to ensure timely and effective implementation of the <keyword id="2312336" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Mission">Swachh Bharat Mission</keyword> objectives in 4041 statutory towns in the country. 

	A Memorandum of Understanding to the effect was signed today between the Ministry and the NGO 'Janaagraha' here. 
 

	The application is likely to become operational by April and will give citizens access to the latest technology to lodge their complaint and actively participate in keeping their cities clean. 
 

	Speaking on the occasion, UD Ministry Joint Secretary Praveen Prakash said, "Through this App, the government is providing the citizens with a platform to express their concerns regarding their areas and build community participation and consensus towards maintaining the cleanliness in their cities." 
 

	Prakash, who is also the Mission Director for Swachh Bharat said "The App will also enable municipal officials/field engineers to see each complaint and update the status of the resolution along with photos, hence building accountability in the system by ensuring timely grievance redressal." 
 

	Citizens will have features that will allow them to view complaints posted nearby, and show support by 'Voting up' on various complaints. 
 The App, in addition to enabling the creation of a community around complaints, leading to community participation and faster complaint resolution, will also enable the Ministry to rate and rank the 4041 <keyword id="6374279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-local-bodies">urban local bodies</keyword> (ULBs) in India, based on their efficiency of redressing citizen grievances. The application aims at realising the vision of Swachh Bharat Mission towards a clean and <keyword id="1459267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Garbage-Free-India">garbage free India</keyword> by 2019. 
	 
	(Image credits: Reuters)

Swachh City Solutions App for garbage free India by April

It was in October 2, 2015 that the <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> government started the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/India-is-going-digital-for-a-Swachh-Bharat-An-alert-will-soon-tell-when-to-empty-trash-cans/articleshow/51454516.cms">Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan </a>or <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Swachh-Sarvekshan-spells-bad-news-for-Modis-Varanasi-Mysuru-emerges-cleanest-of-all/articleshow/51006868.cms">Clean India Mission</a>. It is 2016 and yet Clean India is far from reaching its vision. The problem is with our mindset. Hence, <keyword id="3318755" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trestor">Trestor</keyword> in collaboration with some <keyword id="61708" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Bombay">IIT Bombay</keyword> students created <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Swachh-Bharat-on-a-new-high-as-BJPCountsCondoms/articleshow/51122887.cms">Swachh Machine</a> to incentivise people to participate in the mission. It is every bit as clever as it sounds!
 

	The idea: for every recyclable waste item one puts inside the machine, they will be rewarded with a digital value token called ‘trest’, which can be exchanged for 300 ml of clean drinking water. At a time when the city of Mumbai is heading towards a drought like situation, this comes as a boon.
 “Through our <keyword id="3318756" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swachh-Machine">Swachh Machine</keyword>, we intend to inculcate a culture of cleanliness among the people of Mumbai,” said Kunal Dixit, founder of Trestor, a startup that is using the concept of bitcoin to connect the community. 

	You do not need a smartphone to receive the token, you can also take a printout of it and use it. It has been installed at IIT Bombay and the results have been remarkable.
 

	“The aim is to install it in every available public space like railway stations, bus stops, roadsides etc. We target to install 5000 machines every month by the end of 2016,” said Kunal.
 

	The machine has 3 compartments, one for bottles, one for cans and one for things which are not bottles or cans. The machine detects the waste and generates token. Though one can put non-recyclable waste too in it, one does not get any trest in return. The machine reduces the waste to one-sixth of its size. When it reaches 80% of its capacity, it sends an SMS or a voice note to the administrator. 
 

	The starting cost of one machine is Rs. 50,000. The price can go as high as Rs. 1 lakh depending on the customisation one needs.

Trestor and IIT Bombay students have the perfect solution to Mumbai’s difficult water situation

<ul><li>In a joint report by the <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword> (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s education system has shown a surge in <keyword id="49770" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanitation">sanitation</keyword> facilities. </li><li>Until a decade ago, it was only half the schools with some sort of solution which has now increased to nearly all the schools in India having some sort of sanitation facility on campus. </li><li>While this may be good news, India still has a long way to go in terms of providing even the most basic of hygiene solutions in schools.</li></ul>India’s education system, until recently, was plagued by the absence of sanitation facilities. But, as per a <a href="https://data.unicef.org/resources/wash-in-schools/" data-type="tilCustomLink">new joint report</a> by the the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), the scenario has changed drastically. As per their analysis, nearly all of India’s school now have some sort of sanitation facility. Until a decade ago, it was only half the schools in the country that had any sort of hygiene facilities on campus. In a country like India, sanitation facilities play a key role in boosting female attendance in schools while also creating a healthy learning environment. According to the report, the girls are more likely to miss school when they are on their period if no washroom is provided. That’s five days a month culminating to almost two whole months in a year. Dedicated washrooms are generally frowned upon in rural areas due to societal perception of solid waste as unsanitary within the areas where people live. India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA), a mission to clean up the streets and add sanitation <keyword id="17408" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="infrastructure">infrastructure</keyword> to Indian cities, could be considered the driving force behind increasing awareness that thwarting that misconception. Sanitation and India Progress on this front meets goal 6 of the <keyword id="879547" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainable-development-goals">sustainable development goals</keyword> (SDGs) which addresses clean water and sanitation. More specifically, goal 6 has a target of ending <keyword id="6394194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="open-defecation">open defecation</keyword> by 2030. More than that, the increase in sanitation facilities meets goal 4, which ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. That being said, the reality of the situation is a little bittersweet. Despite nationally issued guideline on menstrual waste management, only 66% of the schools in India have some sort of menstrual hygiene education integrated into their school curriculum. While looking into how many schools have bins with lids for the disposal of sanitary materials, the percentages varied from state to state. Developed areas like Chandigarh have bins with lids across 98% of the schools whereas their less-developed counterparts like Chattisgarh only have a 36% coverage. On top of that, Mizoram is the only state to have functional incinerators for the disposal of sanitary waste in more than 50% of its schools. Even as something as basic as safe drinking water is only present in 30% of the schools in India. And, only-third of the schools have some form of the most basic types of toilet facilities. While, the increase and pace of sanitation is encouraging, there are still 900 million children in India who go to school without having anywhere to even <keyword id="387262" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="WASH">wash</keyword> their hands.

Nearly all of India’s schools have some sort of sanitation facility, but is that enough?

Like the US, India will soon have a system in place which will send alerts to sanitation workers when the trash cans will be full. 
 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=swachh+bharat+abhiyan">Swachh Bharat Abhiyan</a> got a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=digital+India">Digital India</a> touch and it is likely that solar-powered trash cans will be developed which will send alerts when it is time to empty the dustbins. 
 
This technology is already in place in 47 other countries. 
 
The idea will be implemented through <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=internet+of+things">Internet of Things</a> (IoT) and the Indian government plans a solution for installing these devices on solar-powered trash cans in major cities. 
 
The government, in a post, stated waste management is an important requirement for ecologically sustainable development. Efficient sorting of waste is a major issue in today's society. 
 "To assist the <keyword id="2517872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Abhiyan">Swachh Bharat Abhiyan</keyword> initiative, projects may be set up to create products which are solar-powered trash receptacle and trash compactor that alerts sanitation crews of municipal authorities, when it is full," the post under <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> project read. 
 
Meanwhile, the trash cans overseas are installed by Big Belly and work on a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=cloud">cloud-based web application</a>. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

India is going digital for a Swachh Bharat. An alert will soon tell when to empty trash cans

<ul><li>The Municipal Corporation in Ambikapur, Chattisgarh launched the country’s garbage cafe scheme. </li><li>The scheme offers ragpickers and homeless people free meals in exchange for plastic or any kind of trash. </li><li>The authorities have dedicated funds to the tune of ₹550,000, towards the cafe.</li></ul>Chattisgarh is offering a unique solution for two burning issues in the country — hunger and plastic waste. It introduced a ‘Garbage cafe’ where people can bring in plastic trash and get a free meal in return, <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/bring-plastic-waste-and-eat-full-meal-at-india-s-first-garbage-cafe-in-chhattisgarh-371570.html" data-type="tilCustomLink">reported </a>India Times Ambikapur, a city which is home to 200,000 people, launched the country’s garbage cafe scheme which offers ragpickers and homeless people free meals in exchange for plastic or any kind of trash. The scheme also aims to provide shelter to at least 100 homeless people. The municipal corporation has math in place on the food scheme. Every one kilo of trash earns a full meal, while 500gms earns a breakfast. The authorities have dedicated funds to the tune of ₹550,000, towards the cafe. The scheme has an ambitious plan to build greener roads using plastic waste. There are many such cafes across the world however India's plan to build roads through a garbage cafe makes it unique. Ambikar is the second cleanest city in India, <a href="https://swachhsurvekshan2019.org/Rankings/Morethan1Lakh">according to Swachh Survekshan 2019 </a>— a national ranking that determines the level of cleanliness in different cities across India.

India’s first ‘Garbage Cafe’ offers free meals in exchange for plastic waste

No foundation for oppn criticism of Budget:BJP in RSNew Delhi, Feb 11 () Hitting back at the Congress forits "incompetent doctors" remark on handling of the economy,the BJP on Tuesday said there was no foundation for theopposition criticism and termed as "wrong" the diagnosis andtreatment of the economy done during the UPA regime.Participating in the discussion on the Finance Bill, BJPmember Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Union Budget for 2020-21 hastaken care of all sections of society and all sectors toensure all-round development of the country.He said the demand will rise due to increased spendingpower and the government has infused money to increase publicsector spending."Our doctor is right and our diagnosis is alsoright....You did vote bank politics, while we are doing'sabka saath, sabka vikas,' he said."Your diagnosis was wrong and your treatment was wrongtoo. There is no foundation for your criticism. But you areindulging in misleading the country," he said.Initiating the debate on the Union Budget for 2020-21,Congress leader P Chidambaram had said on Monday that theeconomy was close to collapse and was being attended by "veryincompetent doctors."The BJP MP said investment and demand will rise throughthis budget and every section of society will be benefited.Justifying the RBI paying the government out of itsreserves, he said it is the duty of every central bank toreturn extra income to the government and central banksacross the world do this.Opposition members said the Budget has not lived up toexpectations and fails to address challenge faced by theIndian economy.They also attacked the Union government for the "step-motherly" treatment to states and privatisation of publicsector units including Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC).PL Punia (Congress) said the government is not ready toaccept the crisis in the economy and urged the financeminister to consult experts to address the problem.He also accused the government of doing nothing for thewelfare of scheduled castes and tribals, saying sub-plansbe restored for SCs and Tribals.Continuing the debate on the Budget, TRS member K KeshavaRao said the Budget has set up an ambitious disinvestmenttarget and would be difficult to achieve. He said the dual taxsystem proposed in the Budget would benefit charteredaccountants.The TRS member also raised the issue of "step motherly"treatment being given to States in devolution of taxes.Binoy Vishwam (CPI) said the economy is already on"ventilator" and the Budget does not provide any solution toit.He accused the government of selling off national wealthto select private companies.Vishwam said even the BJP-RSS affiliated trade union BMSis opposing the stake sales in the LIC. He also rued thatallocation for MNREGA has been lowered by around Rs 10,000crore.BSP member Veer Singh said the Centre has "ruined" theIndian economy and unemployment is at a 45 year-high. Hecharged the BJP-ruled central government has failed to fulfilits promises.He alleged the Centre is ending reservations for SC/STsand OBCs.Singh asked the government to provide reservation toSC/STs and OBCs in private sector if it is serious andcommitted to welfare of backward classes.Kumari Selja of the Congress focused on Haryana in herspeech and said the State has not got its due in terms ofallocation of funds."There was lot of expectation from the Budget that itwill address problems of the country as well that of women,"she said, adding the Budget turned out to be a damp squib.The Congress leader raised the reservation issue andaccused the Central government of misleading the House.Participating in the debate, BJP leader RajeevChandrashekar said the Budget continues to address the "mess"in the economy left by the previous government. The UPA regime had left the economy in a crisis andfinancial market in a devastating state as scams explodedowing to loans given to 10 groups, he charged. "This nightmare was turned around by our government...Oureconomic management is in sharp contrast to theirs. We havedelivered unprecedented macro economic strength to theeconomy. This is the fact," he said, listing out achievementsof the Modi government in the last six years. However, there were cyclical and structural issues owingto disruptions in global trade, he said and added, "theseare growing pains in any economy and the government willaddress them all."Hitting out at Chidambaram for the doctor remarks, theBJP leader said, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government had lefthealth and robust patient (economy) and handed it over to adream team of doctors (Congress) which after ten years left itterminally ill... "But the Modi government revived it although some painremains and that will be addressed. The government will notleave the patient to relapse," he said, adding the Budget 2020is a "careful and prudent" budget. He said the government is off to a good budget start andhopes to achieve the target of USD 5 trillion economy. Criticising the budget, Congress leader Ripun Bora said itwas the "longest budget with shortest expectations" and listedout failures of the present government. He said the government has not set up a mechanism fordoubling of farmers' income. The budget allocation has beenmade only for 100 water stressed villages even though thegovernment's survey had identified 255 villages in 2019. Even on ease of living, the government has not made anyprogress as purchasing power of people has been decliningbesides there is rise in prices of essential items and growingunemployment, he said. Although one cooking gas cylinder is given free under theUjwala Scheme, people are not able to afford subsequentcylinders at such high rates, he said.Bora said a person gets rice at a subsidised rate of Rs3/kg from ration shops but to cook it he needs Rs 45 per litrefor kerosene and over Rs 1,000 per cooking gas cylinder. On Swachh Bharat Mission, he requested the House to senda parliamentary panel to Assam to check the quality of toiletsbeen build under this programme. Most toilets are notfunctional as they are not clean in the absence of water andeven quality of construction is poor. On unemployment, the Congress leader said lowerallocation of Rs 3,000 crore for skill development shows thelevel of government's commitment towards resolving the problemof unemployment in the country.Similarly on developing smart cities, the budgetallocation has been made for only five cities, although 100cities were identified, he said, adding Assam was ignored inthe budget. "Overall, this budget is not 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas', itis Ambani and few companies' vikas," he charged. NKD MJHSKC LUXDV DV

RS-BUD-DEBATE

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationBill Gates held up a beaker of human feces at the reinvented toilet expo in Beijing on November 6, 2018 to prove a point: unsanitary conditions are dangerous for our health.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Worm toilets require no traditional flushing and aren't hooked up to a sewer system - instead, worms compost human waste.</li><li>More than 4,000 such "Tiger Toilets" have been installed to date across India, in homes of people who were previously defecating in the open.</li><li>The worm toilets smell a lot better than a pit latrine, and don't breed mosquitoes either.</li><li>Here's how a $350 toilet powered by worms could <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">change the world</a> and save lives. </li></ul>Worms may not have spines, but they're doing some back-breaking sewer work in more than 4,000 toilets across India. Since 2015, a creative new type of toilet called the Tiger Toilet has been popping up outside homes and schools around the country. From the outside, this toilet looks like any other pit latrine. But it doesn't smell like one. Instead, it comes with a built-in population of tiger worms. "Their natural breeding, natural habitat is in cow dung heaps, or horse sh*t heaps, that kind of thing," Ajeet Oak, director of the Tiger Toilet company, told Business Insider. "Poop. That's where they like to live."The toilets involve no traditional flushing and aren't hooked up to a sewer system. Instead, the worms are contained in a container below the toilet, and they feast on feces. The creatures' activity leaves behind a mix of water, carbon dioxide, and a small amount of wormy compost (that's technically the worms' poo, though it's much less toxic and more nutrient-rich than ours).The resulting water isn't clean enough to drink, but it "can go into the ground and it sort of gets filtered naturally from there on," Oak said. No wastewater treatment plant needed. To get the worm system to market, <a href="http://www.primoveindia.com/Tiger%20Toilet%20Broucher.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a> awarded at least <a href="https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/Documents/wsh-strategy-overview.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$4.8 million</a> in grant money to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine <a href="http://www.primoveindia.com/Tiger%20Toilet%20Broucher.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to perfect the technology</a>. Tiger Toilets also received <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/div/portfolio/bvv-tiger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$170,000 for initial testing in India, Myanmar and Uganda from USAID</a>. Now, after years of development and field testing around the world, the technology is finally reaching people who need it most."These are people who are getting toilets for the first time," Oak said, adding that before getting a Tiger Toilet, "they would go out in the field." Bill Gates <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-wants-world-to-move-past-flush-toilets-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told a crowd in Beijing</a> that he's ready to spend an additional $200 million developing technology for next-generation toilets like these that can operate without mainframe sewer systems. "We estimate that by 2030, the opportunity here is over $6 billion a year," Gates said.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-wants-world-to-move-past-flush-toilets-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates is so obsessed with redesigning the world's toilets, he brought a jar of poop onstage in Beijing to prove it</a><h2>How worms clean excrement</h2>Tiger worms, or Eisenia fetida if you prefer the scientific term, are animals that love to eat waste. This makes them a perfect composting solution, and they especially love what falls into their Tiger Toilet compartment. "These worms, they won't escape on their own, because they won't survive in just soil," Oak said. They need our human waste to live.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Courtesy of Bear Valley VenturesThese worms love eating human waste. The byproduct they create is mostly just water.</div></div></div>The Tiger Toilet system costs about $350 USD to install and requires no connection to drainage pipes or a mainline sewer.Once a person does their business in the toilet, they send their waste down into the worm-filled compartment below using a pour-flush system, usually with a little bucket of water. (There are no handles or automatic flushing devices in the Tiger Toilet.)The toilet's cleaning stats are <a href="https://iwaponline.com/washdev/article-abstract/4/2/231/30367/Processing-of-human-faeces-by-wet-vermifiltration?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressive</a>: they <a href="http://www.primoveindia.com/Tiger%20Toilet%20Broucher.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">process feces, remove 99% of the pathogens, and leave behind no more than 15% of the waste</a> by weight, in the form of compost material. The rest becomes water (around 60-70%) and carbon dioxide. That's better performance than a septic tank.Plus, the leftover byproduct makes for "excellent fertilizer," Oak said, because its mix of nitrogen, phosphorous, carbon, and potassium is good for growing plants. Tiger Toilets (and Tiger worm-powered treatment plants, like the one pictured below) also don't breed mosquitoes or attract other flying menaces.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Tiger Toilets</div></div></div>"Users find the toilets preferable to traditional latrines," <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/global-waters/march-2015/thinking-outside-latrine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USAID wrote of the toilets</a> during field testing in 2015. "Because the worms break down the solid waste, the toilets emit fewer odors and attract fewer flies than traditional latrines."The earliest editions of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278035736_The_Tiger_Toilet_From_Concept_to_Reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tiger Toilets</a> are now more than five years old and their worm compartments haven't needed any maintenance yet - the slimy creatures are still chomping away. Eventually, after about eight to 10 years, the company expects some toilet maintenance to be required. At that point, the worm bin, which isn't visible to toilet users, must be emptied.It's not a terrible job - "you don't have to handle sludge," Oak said. Simply remove the lid of the toilet, exposing the top layer of worm castings - their leftovers from years of hard work. Then shovel it out and use it in a garden as fertilizer. Then the worm population will be ready to work again. <h2>Why people need worm toilets</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Rohit Joshi</div></div></div>The tiny worms that make their home in filth are performing a lifesaving task for humans. Across the developing world, people without a safe place to go to the bathroom can die because of unsanitary conditions. Diarrhea kills 525,000 children under five annually around the world "as a result of poor hygiene," according to the <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease">World Health Organization</a>. Improper hygiene also causes the global economy to miss out on an <a href="https://www.lixil.com/en/makeasplash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated $223 billion USD</a> per year.Additionally, open defecation can be a dangerous situation for women. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5100257/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A 2016 study in India</a> found that women who defecate in the open are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted by a stranger as those who have a toilet in their house. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Gouri ThakarMangal Shirke who lives in the village of Adachiwadi celebrates outside her first at-home toilet.</div></div></div>In India, millions of people relieve themselves outdoors on a daily basis - 40% of the country's population, according to the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ODFC.ZS?locations=IN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Bank's estimate</a> from 2015. <a href="http://sbm.gov.in/sbmReport/home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The country has set a</a> "Swachh Bharat Mission" goal of becoming open-defecation free this year, but it's unlikely to be fully successful, since even people who can access a toilet don't always use it. A <a href="https://riceinstitute.org/research/changes-in-open-defecation-in-rural-north-india-2014-2018-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2018 survey</a> of more than 9,800 people and 150 local government officials across India found that one in four people in rural northern provinces have access to latrines but don't use them. Some people choose to relieve themselves in the open for compelling reasons. An Indian woman identified only as "Veer" told Meenakshi Dalal, a program and communications specialist with USAID/India, that men block the way to her community toilet, taunting and harassing women."They dress up as women, they get in line with us, they might touch us," <a href="https://medium.com/usaid-global-waters/open-defecation-vs-community-toilets-a-complicated-choice-a5cfe84dcd4d?fbclid=IwAR16gd7yzeUwFUIl_hisJi6fGlYsXlAqqkdZSZZosF5I5fR1rH2ADflSpW8">Dalal recalled Veer telling her</a>. "Every few days someone is raped. On one side of the toilet is where we live and on the other side it's jungle. They can pull us there."Tiger toilets is testing out some options for crowded slums like Veer's - a kind of downsized, city-friendly version of the worm toilet - but they're not ready yet."The challenge is to have something for a family which can be put in a very small house," Oak said. "We're calling it the Urban Tiger Toilet." India's government has also started offering cash incentives to people who install toilets in their homes, which makes a Tiger Toilet even more affordable for families who are getting their first toilet. <h2>Bringing worm toilets to the world</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Rohit Patankar</div></div></div>Lixil Group, the parent company that owns toilet-industry giants American Standard and Grohe, is also interested in Tiger Toilets. The company recently signed a letter of intent to bring Tiger Toilets to scale."Eventually we want to have something that's really sleek and you can place anywhere," Daigo Ishiyama, Lixil's marketing and technology director, told Business Insider.But he said that will take some time: "We're dealing with living creatures - you know, worms."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Rahul Aluri</div></div></div>Still, this kind of game-changing new invention - a toilet that requires no traditional sewer system - is an exciting prospect for Gates. He has even compared it to the invention of the personal computer. "A whole new product category is being introduced here," he said. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waterless-toilet-future-backed-bill-gates-foundation-2017-5">Bill Gates is backing the waterless toilet of the future - here's how it works</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

A $350 toilet powered by worms may be the ingenious future of sanitation that Bill Gates has been dreaming about

There exists a considerable overlap between the recently adopted United Nation’s (UN) <keyword id="55804" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</keyword> Goals (SDGs) targeted to be achieved by 2030 and the social dimensions incorporated in the <keyword id="2181132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Social-Progress-Index">Social Progress Index</keyword> (SPI) developed by the Social Progress Imperative, a nonprofit organization based in Washington. The UN’s sustainable development agenda comprises of 17 goals pertaining to poverty eradication, lessening inequality and injustice and environmental challenges, particularly climatic changes and hold a global applicability, irrespective of the level of development of a nation. Likewise, the SPI captures comprehensively social progress of a country by incorporating various social and environmental indicators which have been distinctly grouped into three dimensions- Basic Human Needs such as food, water, sanitation, shelter, and personal safety; Foundations of Wellbeing for a better life such as basic education, information and communication, health , and environmental sustainability and thirdly, the Opportunity to improve one’s life through provision of rights, freedom , equality and access to advanced education. Figure1.1 highlights the overlap between the UN’s SDGs and the three dimensions of the SPI. 
 
Figure 1.1: Overlap between the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the SPI 
 
 
 
Source: <a href="http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/">http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/</a> 
 
 
The SPI by aggregating indicators across all the dimensions provides a holistic measure to benchmark the progress reached on the sustainable development agenda of the UN. While, the world scores 61 on a scale of 100 on social progress, there exists a wide diversity in the social progress levels reached across the world, with countries falling under the category of “Low Social Progress” and “Very Low Social Progress” being the countries of concern for achieving the new SDGs for 2030. 
 
Looking at the SPI performance for India, which has been classified as one of the low social progress countries, it has been observed that while India performs well in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care and Access to Basic Knowledge, it lags behind in many other critical aspects of development. For instance, in 2015, only 36 per cent of the population had access to improved sanitation facilities and about 26 per cent had access to piped water. Moreover, due to excessive freshwater withdrawals India is currently facing high water stress levels. In addition to this, about 25 per cent of the population does not have access to electricity, along with a poor quality of electricity supply to the rest of the masses. Further, India has low tolerance for all the members of its population, making it socially less progressive compared to the other countries. For instance, India has been ranked 128th in 133 countries on tolerance for immigrants from other countries. (<a href="http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/">http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/</a>) 
 
Understanding the pressing need of fostering social progress for India, the current Narendra Modi government has implemented a development strategy that is closely aligned with the recent UN’s sustainable development agenda. One of the most striking initiatives undertaken so far have been “Make in India” drive having intent of propelling domestic manufacturing growth along with spurring foreign direct investment, job creation and innovation in sectors such as automotive, defense manufacturing, electronics, mining, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy. In addition to this, initiatives such as “Digital India” and “Smart Cities” have committed to providing best in class infrastructure and smart solutions to its people such as smart energy systems, green transportation and smart buildings intended to save energy usage. 
 
Further, as India accounts for about 50 per cent of the world’s open defecation, Government of India and the World Bank have also signed a US$500 million credit for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) project in the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. This complements the popular “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, national campaign by the Government of India to clean the roads of the country. Several other programmes that would enable India to achieve higher social progress include “Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation” which proposes housing for all by 2022, and “Skill India” initiative which proposes to empower about 40 crore individuals with skills by 2022. Moreover, to drive innovation and the related growth, which is essential for sustainable development, Modi government has also taken steps to promote intellectual property rights within the country. A national Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy has been formulated which suggests providing tax benefits to the IPR creation. 
 
On the front of environmental sustainability, which has been another area of concern for sustainable development of a country, in the World Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris in 2015, India has shown its support along with 176 other countries so far by signing the climatic change agreement which proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius. 
Thus, while several efforts have been taken up by the Indian government towards a more sustainable development growth path, it must be realized that to achieve the global goals, the world’s social progress score would have to reach atleast 75 out of 100(Report by Deloitte UK and Social Progress Imperative), which is possible only if all the countries, irrespective of their current level of economic growth overperform on social progress. One of the countries worth highlighting here is Costa Rica, which has achieved a SPI score of 77.88 with a GDP per capita of only $13, 431 per annum. While, several social indicators are positively impacted by economic prosperity, indicators on the front of health and wellness, rights and freedom, tolerance and inclusion and environment have a weak correlation with GDP, thus highlighting the necessity of prioritizing such dimensions directly so as to achieve the desired social progress score for the UN’s SDGs for 2030. 
 
About the authors: Dr Amit Kapoor is Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitivenes.in">amit.kapoor@competitivenes.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya. Deepti Mathur is part of the Social Progress Index team at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. 
 
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5G0ndS3uRdo/maxresdefault.jpg">Image source</a>

You Searched For "Swachh City Solutions" and got 9 results

OPINION: There should be continued focus on building urban infrastructure and sustainable smart cities

BI India Bureau

Swachh City Solutions App for garbage free India by April

BI India Bureau

Trestor and IIT Bombay students have the perfect solution to Mumbai’s difficult water situation

Usha Rani Das

Nearly all of India’s schools have some sort of sanitation facility, but is that enough?

Prabhjote Gill

India is going digital for a Swachh Bharat. An alert will soon tell when to empty trash cans

BI India Bureau

India’s first ‘Garbage Cafe’ offers free meals in exchange for plastic waste

Preeti Soni

RS-BUD-DEBATE

PTI

A $350 toilet powered by worms may be the ingenious future of sanitation that Bill Gates has been dreaming about

Hilary Brueck

India’s Development Strategy towards Social Progress and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Amit Kapoor

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides