Relevance for Banking, SSC & RBI Grade B exams: Polity & Governance
The Centre has extended the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II until March 2028, securing an allocation of approximately Rs 7,000 crore in the Union Budget 2027-28 for this flagship rural sanitation scheme. This extension, approved by the Finance Ministry following a request from the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, mandates that all remaining villages achieve ‘Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus’ status by the new deadline. An ‘ODF Plus’ village is defined as one that sustains its ODF status, ensures solid and liquid waste management, and is visually clean. The scheme, initially approved by the Union Cabinet on February 19, 2020, was first scheduled to conclude in 2024-25 but was subsequently extended until the end of the 15th Finance Commission period, and now further until March 2028, with the Finance Ministry explicitly stating no further extensions would be considered. So far, 5.70 lakh out of 5.86 lakh villages have been declared ‘ODF Plus’.
For Banking, SSC, and RBI Grade B aspirants, this development is crucial for understanding government schemes, policy implementation, and budgetary allocations. Questions may arise regarding the objectives and definitions of ‘ODF Plus’ villages, the financial outlay and sharing patterns (90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states, 60:40 for other states, and 100:0 for Union Territories), and the ministries involved. Awareness of such flagship programs, their timelines, and progress indicators is essential for general awareness sections, as well as for comprehending the socio-economic development initiatives driven by the government, which often form the basis of descriptive answers in higher-level exams like RBI Grade B.
Source: The Indian Express
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