Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

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Swachh Bharat or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Campaign Clean India) is a national level campaign
by the Government of India covering 4041 statutory towns to clean the streets, roads and
infrastructure of the country.[1][2][3]
This campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, where Prime
Minister Narendra Modi himself wielded broom and cleaned a road. The campaign is India's biggest
ever cleanliness drive and 3 million government employees and schools and colleges students of
India participated in this event.[4][5] The mission was started as a tree with EACH ONE of the nine
personalities nominated by Narendra Modi to in turn nominate nine other people and so on. It has
been carried forward since then with famous people from all walks of life joining it.

History[edit]
Narendra Modi

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was announced by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Indian
Independence Day & launched on 2 Oct 2014, Gandhi Jayanti. On this day, Modi addressed the
citizens of India in a public gathering held at Rajghat, New Delhi, India and asked everyone to join
this campaign.[6] Later on this day, Modi himself swept a parking area at Mandir Marg Police Station
followed by pavement in Valmiki Basti, a colony of sanitation workers, at Mandir Marg, near
Connaught Place, New Delhi.[7]
On 2 October, Anil Ambani, an Indian industrialist and a participant in this event, told in a statement
[8]
I am honoured to be invited by our respected Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi to join the
"Swachh Bharat Abhiyan". . . I dedicate myself
to this movement and will invite nine other
leading Indians to join me in the "Clean India" campaign. . .
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee asked every Indian to spend 100 hours annually in this drive.
This campaign is supported by theIndian Army, Border Security Force, Indian Air Force and India.[8]

Objectives[edit]
This campaign aims to accomplish the vision of 'Clean India' by 2 October 2019, 150th birthday
of Mahatma Gandhi and is expected to cost over 62000 crore (US$10 billion).[3][9] The campaign was
described as "beyond politics" and "inspired by patriotism".[10]
More than 3 million government employees and schools and colleges students of India are going to
participate in this event.[4][10]

First nominees[edit]
Modi selected 9 notable public figures to propagate this campaign. [8] They are:

Anil Ambani

Baba Ramdev

Kamal Hassan

Mridula Sinha

Priyanka Chopra

Sachin Tendulkar

Salman Khan

Shashi Tharoor

The team of TV series Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah

Indian film actor Aamir Khan supported and encouraged this initiative and told that he would be
happy if he is invited into this campaign.[11] Urban Development Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu, picked
up the broom to clean cyclone-hit port city of Visakhapatnam in southern state of Andhra Pradesh,
as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis cleanliness campaign. [12]

Swachh Bharat Run[edit]

A 'Swachh Bharat Run' was organized at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 2 October 2014. According to a
statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan around 1500 people participated and the event was flagged
off by President Pranab Mukherjee . Participants in the run included officers and sice, as well as their
families.[13]

Swachh Bharat Apps[edit]

Many independent app developers came up with ideas to support the mission using mobile
technologies. Times of India published an article on how "Desi companies beat Facebook in
'Swachh' apps race".[14]

Vocative global wrote about this new phenomenon and one such app in an article "This
Indian App Could Change How People Talk To Their Government" [15]

The cleanliness mission was launched by the PM in October on Mahatma Gandhi's birth
anniversary. He swept a section of a street in Central Delhi and tagged nine famous
Indians; he urged them to set an example by leading the campaign in their cities. Since
then, at a series of public addresses, including one in Sydney yesterday, the PM has
asked that by 2019, for Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, India should pay tribute to its
iconic leader by ensuring his dream of a clean India is fulfill
CHILD LABOUR
In a significant move to curb the rampant
spread of child labour across the country, the Government of India is set to ban the all forms of child
labour under the age of 14 years, making the employment of children below 14 years a criminal
offense. The Union cabinet of India approved the Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition) Act today
putting a blanket ban on employing anybody below 18 years in hazardous occupation. Such
hazardous occupations have also been re-classified in line with the increase in the minimum age of
child labour from 14 to 18 years.
However, it will allow employing children only between 14-18 years in non-hazardous industries like
forest gathering, child care etc. Children between 14-18 years have been defined as "adolescents" in
the amended Act. Employing a child below 14 years in any kind of occupation is set to become
a cognizable offence, punishable with a maximum three years imprisonment or fine up to a
maximum of Rs. 50,000 (~US$ 900).
Ministry officials said that banning any employment of children below 14 years will go a long way in
enforcing the Right to Education Act, 2009 which mandates free and compulsory education of all
children in the age group of 6-14 years.
This is a crucial step by the Government towards ending child labour following more than a decade
of sustained efforts by Bachpan Bachao Andolan(BBA) and the Global March Against Child
Labour (Global March) to pursue complete abolition of child labour in India. The Child Labour Free
India campaign has a multi-pronged approach of a range of tactics including Knock the Door a
flagship tactics of BBA where former child labourers knock the doors of parliamentarians and
celebrities petitioning them for strong anti-child labour legislations.
Pursuing justice and policy changes through the courts both Supreme Court of India and the High
Courts for protection of childrens rights is another strategy that has reaped benefits in favour of
strong legislations and child friendly policies.
Child Labour Free India Campaign, by the BBA and Global March has strongly encouraged and
demanded amendments in the Child Labour Act, all of which have been accepted by the
government:

S.No. Demands

Approved

All forms of employment should be

prohibited for children up to the age of
completion of education in accordance to
the Right to Education Act;

All forms of child labour prohibited

fro children under 14 years of age

Employment of children up to 18 years of

Children between 14 and 18 years
age in any hazardous occupation or
prohibited in hazardous work
processes or any economic activity which is
dangerous for children must be prohibited in
conformity with the Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection of Children) Act 2000;

Child Labour should be made cognizable

Child labour is now a cognizable
and non-bailable offense under law and
offense
punitive actions against offenders should be
made more stringent and time-bound;

An effective national programme with

sufficient resource allocation for
comprehensive rehabilitation of child
labourers and also for clear monitoring and
accountability framework must be in place;

India should reiterate its new role as a

Ratification hurdles cleared, and
leader in global economy by immediately
government has indicated that
ratifying ILO Conventions No. 182 on the
ratification is now in pipeline
worst forms of child labour and the No. 138
on the minimum age of employment at the
earliest.

Government working towards a

comprehensive rehabilitation,
monitoring and accountability
framework

ed.