AKSHAY KUMAR From a film about household toilets to beach bio-toilets and ministry campaigns, the actor’s decade on water, sanitation and hygiene shows both the reach and the limits of celebrity advocacy As of 17 September 2026, a government factsheet shows, rural India has built over 12.22 crore household toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen,…
Bindeshwar Pathak transformed sanitation in India through the Sulabh Sanitation Movement, promoting affordable toilet technology and challenging the practice of manual scavenging. His legacy highlights the need for effective rehabilitation, safer sanitation systems and dignity for sanitation workers. He once picked up human waste with his own hands. Do not confuse it for a metaphor…
India’s dry states, Bihar and Gujarat, continue to report alcohol consumption despite prohibition laws. NFHS data and research on Bihar’s alcohol ban highlight changing drinking patterns, enforcement challenges, underreporting and the policy’s potential impact on domestic violence and harmful drinking. What does a ban on alcohol achieve if people continue to drink? Fair question! Bihar’s…
Every day, hundreds of millions of Indians sit down to a meal without a real way of knowing what is in it. That uncertainty is no longer a fringe worry; it is a documented, worsening public health emergency. Recent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) data show that roughly one in five to…
Every September 8, World Physiotherapy Day is commemorated throughout the world. As expected, the theme for the 2026 year, which is proposed by World Physiotherapy, the global organization representing over 600,000 physiotherapists in 128 member countries, relates to the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases and strokes using physiotherapy and physical activity. Cardiovascular disease…
By August 15, Delhi’s AQI was around the “unhealthy for sensitive people” mark–months before winter smog season even starts, and this now has to be treated as the normal state rather than an exception. Bhupender Yadav has asked municipalities across Delhi-NCR to provide their action plans for the year 2026, and a fresh committee of…
India is intensifying its fight against narcotics trafficking, but limited treatment and rehabilitation capacity raises questions about whether enforcement alone can address the country’s drug crisis.
With West Bengal joining the scheme, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY now covers every state and Union Territory in India. While the world’s largest government-funded health insurance programme has expanded financial protection and healthcare access, improving service quality and equitable access remains the next priority.
India’s Jal Jeevan Mission has dramatically expanded rural tap water coverage since 2019, but the focus is now shifting from installing taps to ensuring reliable, safe, and uninterrupted water supply across villages.
Maharashtra has prohibited the sale, advertising, and free distribution of HFSS foods within 50 metres of schools to address rising childhood obesity. While health experts support the move, concerns remain over enforcement, informal vendors, and the effectiveness of complementary measures such as front-of-package nutrition labeling.
