“To ensure effective implementation of policies addressing water, sanitation and hygiene needs the identification of the beneficiary segments is to be synchronized with the anticipated outcomes.” Examine the statement in the context of the WASH scheme.
Approach · directive: “examine”
What it asks · Show why WASH programmes must identify who needs what (women and girls, schools, poor households, slums) and link this targeting to outcomes such as health, dignity and usage, not just structures built.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Examine why beneficiary identification must be synchronised with the anticipated outcomes in WASH programmes
- Apply this to the WASH schemes (Swachh Bharat Mission, rural drinking water): how far they synchronise, and what better design and monitoring require
Open with · SDG target 6.2 seeks sanitation and hygiene for all, with special attention to women, girls and vulnerable groups: it ties who is served to what is achieved.
Cover
- Differentiated needs: girls need school toilets, slum dwellers shared facilities and drainage, persons with disabilities accessible design.
- Outcome logic: fewer diarrhoeal infections follow only if high-burden households are covered and actually use the facility.
- Targeting errors: lists missing migrants, tenants and informal settlements exclude the neediest; uniform designs ignore scarcity or contamination.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), launched 2 October 2014, aimed at an open-defecation-free rural India by 2 October 2019.
- QCI's Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017: toilet coverage 62.45%, and 91.29% of those with access use it; usage, not construction, is the test.
- Way forward: outcome-first planning, behaviour change, convergence with operation and maintenance funds, and independent verification with social audits.
Close with · SDG 6's promise of universal and equitable access to safe drinking water by 2030 makes people reached and habits changed, not assets built, the measure of WASH.
Add value (verified)
- Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) was launched on 2 October 2014 with the aim of an open-defecation-free rural India by 2 October 2019, the flagship WASH scheme of the exam year.Parliament question: objectives achieved under Swachh Bharat Mission — PIB, 24 March 2025 ↗“Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM(G)] was launched on 2nd October, 2014 with the aim to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in rural areas by 2nd October, 2019”
- SDG target 6.2 asks for sanitation and hygiene for all and an end to open defecation, with special attention to women, girls and people in vulnerable situations.Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation - UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (sdgs.un.org) ↗“access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations”
- SDG target 6.1: by 2030, universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation - UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (sdgs.un.org) ↗“Target 6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all”
- Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017, a third-party QCI survey of 1.4 lakh households in 4,626 villages (May-June 2017), found rural toilet coverage of 62.45% and that 91.29% of people with access used their toilet.Swachh Bharat launches Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017 - PIB release, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation ↗“QCI surveyed 1.4 lakh rural households across 4626 villages, and found the overall toilet coverage to be 62.45%”
- The same survey observed that 91.29% of people having access to a toilet used it.Swachh Bharat launches Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017 - PIB release, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation ↗“The survey also observed that 91.29% of the people having access to a toilet, use it.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS
SDG target 6.2 seeks sanitation and hygiene for all, 'paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations'. It thus links who is served to what is achieved.
Why beneficiaries must match outcomes
- Differentiated needs: girls need school toilets; slum dwellers, shared facilities and drainage; persons with disabilities, accessible design.
- Outcome logic: fewer diarrhoeal infections follow only if high-burden households are covered and use the facility.
- Targeting errors: lists missing migrants and tenants exclude the neediest; uniform designs ignore local scarcity.
How the WASH schemes measure up
- Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin): launched on 2 October 2014 for an open-defecation-free rural India by 2 October 2019.
- Coverage versus use: QCI's Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017: 62.45% toilet coverage, and 91.29% of those with access using it.
- Lagging software: hygiene, water quality and maintenance trail the hardware targets.
- Identify segment
- Tailored design
- Behaviour change
- Verified use
- Health, dignity
Way forward
- Outcome-first planning: set usage and water-quality goals, then map whom to reach.
- Behaviour change: handwashing and menstrual hygiene via community champions.
- Convergence: source, toilet and waste planned together, with maintenance funds.
- Verification: independent usage surveys and social audits.
With SDG 6 also promising 'universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all' by 2030, the measure of WASH must be people reached and habits changed, not assets built.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
