HOW CAN PUBLIC EXPENDITURE IMPROVE HOUSEHOLDS’ SANITATION BEHAVIOR? EXPERIENCE OF THE SWACHH BHARAT MISSION IN THE INDIAN STATES

The social impact of sanitation is multifaceted. It has repercussions for health, education, and the local environment, as well as overall human development and economic growth. Unsafe sanitation poses environmental and health risks. In light of the health hazards, the Government of India has introduced the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to improve sanitation conditions. This paper investigates how the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), as a public-funded initiative of the Government of India, can improve the sanitation environment in different states. The paper also explores whether the SBM has been successful as a catalyst in improving the sanitation infrastructure and ensuring its long-term sustainability. The paper employs state-level data from various secondary data sources from 2014–15 to 2018–19. The changes are also explored further using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (4th and 5th rounds) of the Government of India. The data were analyzed by estimating panel econometric models, and related diagnostic tests were carried out. In addition, descriptive analysis was also performed. The results show that household latrine coverage has improved considerably with the initiation of the SBM in India. In addition, a higher literacy rate, a sex ratio favoring women in the family, more significant government expenditure on sanitation and water, and more per capita income result in an improved hygienic environment. As a public-funded initiative, the SBM seems to have played the role of an important catalyst in making people aware of sanitation and creating a conducive environment by constructing latrines. One may expect such changes to encourage private expenditure on sanitation and lead to the establishment of a sustainable sanitation environment in the country. Community participation is also necessary in this regard to alter and improve sanitation and hygiene behavior.


INTRODUCTION
The impact of sanitation on society is multifaceted.It affects health, education, and the local environment, as well as overall human development and economic growth.Unsafe sanitation causes environmental and health-related hazards.More specifically, people in the lower strata are more vulnerable to unhygienic circumstances and sanitation-related intimidations.The situation was very alarming in India before 2014.More than 20% of people lived in places with open defecation (UN 2015), and around one-fifth of child deaths were caused by severe diarrhea.In particular, 52.1% and 7.5% of the rural and urban populations, respectively, practiced open defecation in 2015 (Swachhta Status Report 2016).The lack of sanitation facilities within household premises constitutes a major threat to hygiene requirements in rural India (Chaudhuri and Roy 2017).
Open defecation is a major barrier to achieving sustainable sanitation and a better quality of life.It is directly linked with problems like poverty, underdevelopment, and a poor standard of living.The practice of open defecation has made people more prone to various types of diseases (Spears 2013;Coffey et al. 2014a).Evidence shows that a lack of proper toilet facilities can cause major hindrances to school participation for children, especially pubescent girls from developing countries, leading to millions of girls being out of school (UNICEF 2018).In many cases, the remoteness of the areas and the lack of availability of sufficient water and access to construction materials for latrines have made open defecation more convenient for rural people (O'Reilly, Dhanju, and Goel 2017a).In particular, limited water availability is a major hindrance to the success of sanitation programs. 1Hence, along with the construction of more latrines, the availability of other necessities, such as water and light, appears to be crucial for replacing open defecation with regular use of latrines. 2The lack of adequate and proper sanitation facilities has led to a poor quality of life, increased poverty, and underdevelopment.
Other important aspects associated with open defecation are the beliefs and value systems that Indians possess.The "purity and pollution" concept associated with human excreta often restrains people from using common latrines (Coffey et al. 2017).Moreover, social barriers and cultural patterns also hinder the usage of sanitation facilities (Coffey et al. 2017).For example, a village dominated by Scheduled Tribe (ST) households practices open defecation more (IHDS 2012), primarily because of their socially disadvantaged position in the community.Similarly, in addition to the availability of land, water supply, etc., the caste system also forces the rural people of Against this backdrop, all the United Nations member countries adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015; one among them (the 6th one) focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.The SDGs were introduced as a further improvement to the thenexisting Millennium Development Goals.Given the vast population, India had to find sustainable ways to achieve sanitation targets to provide its citizens with a better quality of life.In this context, the Government of India initiated the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014 to achieve zero defecation status by 2019, and nearly 100% latrine coverage was declared in all the states subsequently (SBM 2019).However, some recent studies cast doubts on that latrine coverage and its effective use (Abraham et al. 2018;Jain et al. 2020).Despite the existence of toilets, open defecation persists in several parts of rural India (NARSS 2019).It is argued that merely constructing latrines is unlikely to result in attaining the targets under the Mission, as the provision of toilets does not necessarily drive people to stop the practice of defecating in open spaces (Panchang 2020).In addition to the provision of latrines, the quality of construction, socioeconomic circumstances, the behavioral pattern of households, and the availability of other infrastructure facilities are also crucial (Routray et al. 2015).
The provision of a latrine is a precondition for ensuring better sanitation.The experiences in this regard vary across the states, particularly regarding changes in the coverage of households with individual latrines.Assessing the role of government spending in creating a sanitation environment is crucial, as it involves a considerable amount of expenditure.This is a critical issue as there are constraints to public spending on universal welfare programs in developing countries.Further, ensuring efficiency and achieving the desired impacts are also imperative to rationalize public expenditure for social development.While subsidies can play a vital role in constructing toilets, regular use of the same requires some additional measures.The majority of poor households in developing countries need a "smart subsidy" 3 for the toilets, so a small subsidy to a larger group can produce more efficient results (Guiteras, Levinsohn, and Mobarak 2015).This is particularly so because neighbors' sanitation arrangements also affect the decision by a household to construct a latrine through a "demonstration effect." Sanitation can act as both a public and private good (Andres et al. 2017) and provide many benefits, including health, socioeconomic conditions, human rights, and environmental aspects.Poor households generally prefer to spend on other essential services like healthcare and education, and sanitation seems less important (Mulumba et al. 2014;Sy, Warner, and Jamieson 2014).Financial constraints along with a cultural stigma associated with toilets often hinder people from spending on sanitation.Hence, public expenditure covers the costs of constructing toilets and thus reduces the burden on households (Ginneken, Netterstrom, and Bennet 2011).However, creating awareness, bringing in behavioral changes, and ensuring quality can generate an environment that motivates people to use sanitation services without hesitation, thus bringing in private expenditure.In this context, one may expect that the spillover and dissemination benefits of public-funded initiatives such as the SBM may increase households' willingness to spend on better sanitation leading to crowding in private expenditure.When this is the case, sanitation facilities will become an economic good for households, ensuring its efficient and sustainable use in the long run.Thus, the success of public-funded programs such as the SBM should be seen not merely in 3 Providing subsidies to multiple households is expected to be most effective if the policies are from the community perspective.This will ensure implementation of a cost-effective strategy by incorporating a large section of the community.The concept of "smart subsidy" here entails this kind of policy.
terms of coverage of households (i.e., the number of beneficiaries) but also in terms of creating a sanitation environment that will ensure better usage. 4his paper explores such possibilities.The existing studies mainly focused on understanding the state of sanitation facilities in India.However, it is equally important to identify the underlying factors that act as constraints on sanitation, as well as to explore the role of public spending in this regard.This is particularly so because the sanitation programs, in general, are publicly funded, making the facilities free goods and thus limiting the success in respect of efficiency and sustainability.Hence, it is vital to explore whether the publicly funded initiatives can act as a catalyst for sanitation programs and their success in the long run.On the other hand, the paper examines the changes in the coverage of households with individual latrines in Indian states and the role of public spending on the same in Indian states.The insights of this paper have special significance for enhancing the efficiency and impact of public expenditure, finetuning the policies and institutional arrangements toward crowding in private expenditure for sustainable improvement in the quality of life, and achieving the objectives of the commitment under the SDGs.
The paper has five sections.The next section discusses the conceptual framework, econometric model specifications, data sources, and estimation techniques used in the paper.The third section presents and analyzes the results of the econometric models.
The fourth section discusses the main findings, and the last section summarizes the findings and concludes the paper.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, DATA, AND METHODOLOGY
Here, the role of public expenditure in creating a sanitation environment is examined through econometric modeling.Based on the literature review, it is assumed that the sanitation situation is influenced by factors relating to socioeconomic conditions, cultural and behavioral aspects, technologies, geographical conditions, policies, and institutions.Significantly, these factors influence the sanitation environment and are also interlinked, with each being either a substitute, complementary, or supplementary.
This paper is based on the conceptual framework as envisaged in Figure 1.Here, it is assumed that household-level latrines/toilets and a proper water supply are prerequisites for sustainable sanitation behavior.Public expenditure delivery plays an important role, as many households are financially incapable of constructing latrines by themselves.However, the mere construction of toilets is not sufficient as often people are hesitant to use toilets.Community awareness programs are also essential to ensure the success of sanitation-related initiatives.Further, given that open defecation can cause a wide range of problems, ranging from hygiene-related issues to sexual assault on women, the construction of toilets guarantees better health and hygiene, enhanced safety and empowerment for women, and a better quality of life.Such an improvement in the quality of life has spillover effects and is expected to encourage people to spend more on sanitation and water.Hence, public expenditure on water and sanitation with community participation may crowd in private expenditure in the long run.
It is assumed that, in addition to creating the necessary facilities and facilitating the spillover and dissemination of the benefits during the initial period, publicly funded sanitation programs such as the SBM will eventually result in an efficient and sustainable sanitation environment by crowding in private expenditure for the same.This can be seen in the typical utility-maximizing behavior of a household.Let us consider the following utility function of a representative household: Here, x and y represent the household's use of sanitation and other services, respectively.Further, α and β are the utility elasticity with respect to sanitation and other services, respectively, ,  > 0. One might expect that creating a publicly funded sanitation program and facilitating the spillover and dissemination of the benefits would increase α (i.e., people will realize more utility from x).
Now, if the household aims to maximize  =     subject to the budget constraint  =    +   ; m,p x ,p y > 0, the corresponding demand function for x will be: Differencing this demand function with respect to α we get, Thus, if publicly funded initiatives are successful in increasing α, there will be crowding in private expenditure for sanitation.From this perspective, one can see the SBM as an initiative to create a sanitation environment that would eventually crowd in private expenditure.Further, the lack of privacy and risk elements of open defecation and their adverse impact on the well-being of people (Sclar et al. 2018) 5 can increase the marginal utility of private expenditure for sanitation facilities or services.Moreover, the dissemination of health-related benefits from proper sanitation facilities can also motivate households to spend.
Although public expenditure plays a significant role in achieving a clean and tidy environment, the construction and usage of household latrines are affected by several factors, such as technological, geographical, cultural, and behavioral aspects as well as the socioeconomic conditions of the households (Guiteras, Levinsohn, and Mobarak 2015; O'Reilly, Dhanju, and Goel 2017a).Moreover, the efficiency of public expenditure is affected by the quality and capability of delivery of institutions' functioning (Mishra, Behera, and Nayak 2010).
Further, the dropping out of girls from schools, shame, disease, sexual harassment during open defecation, etc. are some of the common problems women face because of a lack of toilet facilities (Doron and Jeffrey 2014; World Toilet Day Advocacy Report 2014).Hence, proper sanitation facilities can facilitate women's empowerment along with good health and quality of life.However, interlinked decision-making in connection with the construction of toilets is necessary for more significant spillover effects and bringing in private expenditure for sanitation (Guiteras, Levinsohn, and Mobarak 2015).This, coupled with proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, is expected to fulfill international commitments regarding the SDGs.

Details of the Variables
The details on the measurement of the variables and their respective sources are depicted in Table 1.Here, all the variables are measured on a natural logarithmic scale to control for the scale effect and the potential heteroskedasticity problem.

Data Sources
This paper uses only secondary data gathered from various government sources, and the variables are measured annually.It uses a panel dataset for all the Indian states from 2014-15 to 2018-19.Estimating panel data models helps capture the variations in the availability of sanitation facilities across the states and their changes over time.

Analytical Strategies
Based on the conceptual framework (Figure 1) and the subsequent discussions, the following functional relationships are specified for the econometric modeling: IHHL Coverage = f (Lagged PCNSDP, Literacy Rate, Sex Ratio, GSVA, WSS/RE) IHHL Coverage = f (Lagged PCNSDP, Literacy Rate, Sex Ratio, GSVA, WSS/SSE) Household-level latrine coverage depends on the social, demographic, and economic conditions of households and society.Hence, the percentage of households with IHHL is the dependent variable.The set of independent variables includes per capita net state domestic product (PCNSDP), literacy rate, sex ratio, the ratio of gross value added from industry and services to that from agriculture (GSVA), percentage share of expenditure on water supply and sanitation (WSS) to revenue expenditure on (WSS/RE), and percentage share of expenditure on WSS to social sector expenditure (WSS/SSE).The variables WSS/RE and WSS/SSE are proxies for public expenditure, whereas PCNSDP captures households' ability to afford sanitation.Furthermore, sex ratio and literacy rate control the socio-demographic situation, whereas GSVA is expected to capture the exposure, awareness level, and behavioral patterns through engagement in nonfarm activities.It is assumed that a higher concentration in nonfarm sectors gives the workforce greater exposure to improved sanitation facilities and their benefits and higher affordability. 6However, due to the nonavailability of systematic data at the state level over time, technological, geographic, and institutional factors could not be included here.Nonetheless, this leaves a vital scope for deeper scrutiny.

RESULTS FROM ECONOMETRIC MODELS
Table 2 summarizes the variables, whereas Table 4 shows the econometric results for the FEM.The restricted F-test suggests the FEM vis-à-vis the pooled model, whereas the Hausman test supports the FEM over the REM.It should be noted that, in addition to the pooled regression model and the FEM, the REM was also estimated, and the LM test was carried out.The LM test suggests choosing the pooled model over the REM.Hence, the regression results of the FEM are considered here for further analysis. 6There is around a 67% lower chance of using latrines when the mother is occupied in farming activities compared to unemployed mothers in Ethiopia (Yimam, Gelaye, and Chercos 2014), indicating a strong association between employment and open defecation (Yogananth and Bhatnagar 2018).A study on rural coastal Odisha indicates that the daily routine of men is not suitable for latrine usage (Routray et al. 2015), particularly for those who are involved in farming activities. 7Different aspects of the panel data estimation techniques are summarized in Paria et al. (2021).Source: SBM, Government of India.
Thus, there was an improvement in sanitation facilities (particularly in IHHL facilities) after the initiation of the SBM, though the level varied to some extent across states.Furthermore, while many socioeconomic and institutional factors may have contributed to such changes, the initiation of the SBM seems to have played a crucial role.Nevertheless, examining the role of public expenditure in such initiatives is necessary to understand its efficiency and contribution to social welfare.a and b : Similar models with the same set of variables without logarithmic transformation were also estimated.The signs and statistical significance of the coefficients turned out to be consistent in both cases.Thus, log transformation of the variables does not alter the econometric results other than controlling for the scale effects and heteroskedasticity.
Here, PCNSDP stands for per capita net state domestic product; GSVA for the ratio of gross value added from industry and services to that from agriculture; WSS/RE for the percentage share of expenditure on water supply and sanitation (WSS) to revenue expenditure; and WSS/SSE for the percentage share of expenditure on WSS to social sector expenditure.
8 A typical symptom of multicollinearity is a very high R 2 with only a few or no individual coefficients being significant (Gujarati et al. 2012).However, in the present case, the R 2 value is not very high and only a few individual coefficients are statistically significant.In fact, the coefficients of four out of seven independent variables are statistically significant in the estimated models, implying that they are unlikely to suffer from a multicollinearity problem.
Thus, lagged per capita net state domestic product and literacy rates have a significant and positive influence on IHHL coverage.Such a positive impact of household income and education level on latrine coverage and sanitation facilities is consistent with the findings of Ghosh and Cairncross (2014) and De (2018).The significance of education level in IHHL coverage has to be considered in line with the positive association between school sanitation facilities and the school enrollment ratio (Gillani 2021).While larger per capita income raises households' ability to afford and willingness to construct latrines and other sanitation facilities, a higher literacy rate enhances their awareness and willingness to use these services.
Moreover, the sex ratio and public expenditure also positively impact IHHL coverage.In rural Indian households, managing basic amenities, including water and sanitation, is considered women's primary responsibility.9Hence, a positive and significant coefficient of sex ratio with IHHL coverage is very likely.Public expenditure acts as a catalyst10 for the construction of more toilets, thereby increasing the coverage.In contrast, the lack of necessary funds adversely affects the performance of the states in achieving sanitation-related targets (Mehta 2018).However, the mere construction of toilets is not what the nation requires.The government should also focus on information, education, and communication (IEC) strategies, which can considerably impact the behavioral aspects of people regarding using toilets (Ray 2018).Given that the coefficient of the ratio of gross value added from industry and services to that from agriculture (GSVA) is not statistically significant, one may argue that the household latrine coverage does not depend on the nature of the economic activity.This is possible because, whatever the source of livelihood, people defecate in the open primarily because of their culture and behavior associated with toilet usage (Coffey et al. 2014b).
Unlike the WSS/RE in Model 1, Model 2 uses WSS/SSE to proxy public spending on sanitation.However, the statistical significance and sign of the coefficients of these variables are consistent across the two alternative models.The statistical significance of the individual coefficients and their sign are summarized in Table 5. Note: Here, PCNSDP stands for per capita net state domestic product; GSVA for the ratio of gross value added from industry and services to that from agriculture; WSS/RE for the percentage share of expenditure on water supply and sanitation (WSS) to revenue expenditure; and WSS/SSE for the percentage share of expenditure on WSS to social sector expenditure.
The paper finds that both WSS/RE and WSS/SSE coefficients are statistically significant and positive.This means that greater expenditure on sanitation does have a statistically significant impact on IHHL coverage.Hence, public expenditure plays a crucial role in improving sanitation (Ghosh, Hossain, and Alam 2022), and the states with higher expenditure perform better in this regard.Similar findings are reported by (Dhar, Kakkar, and Roye 2018).Similarly, the IHHL coverage does depend on the sex ratio too, as the coefficient is statistically significant and positive.This adds evidence to the existing literature that shows a positive relation to women's participation in sanitation-related initiatives (World Bank 2010; Routray et al. 2017).
Nevertheless, as a mission, one may feel that the SBM has played a crucial role in not merely providing latrines to Indian households initially, but also in making people aware of different aspects of sanitation facilities (Curtis 2019).The inclusion of IEC in the SBM indicates the importance of creating awareness among people.In particular, the SBM initiative greatly improved IHHL coverage in Indian states and rendered a healthy sanitation environment and quality of life for the citizens.On the other hand, the provision of latrines and sanitation campaigns under the SBM has created spillovers on households leading to crowding in of private expenditure for the same.This is visible from the positive impact of per capita income on household latrine coverage.However, a more robust conclusion in this regard requires further deeper investigation at the household level, with alternative public expenditure measures and behavioral aspects.

DISCUSSION
This study examines whether latrine coverage in Indian states has changed over time and how public initiatives can improve sanitation facilities.Accordingly, an attempt has been made here to understand how sanitation facilities have improved in Indian states following the initiation of the SBM and the impact of various social, economic, and demographic aspects.The paper finds that household latrine coverage has improved considerably with the initiation of the SBM.The IHHL coverage has been positively influenced by the literacy rate, lagged per capita income, sex ratio, and public expenditure on sanitation.In contrast, the relatively high growth of gross value added from industry and services vis-à-vis that from agriculture has no significant impact.Thus, education level, the sex ratio favoring women in the family, government expenditure on sanitation, and per capita income influence people to move towards a hygienic environment.
The findings of the present paper suggest that promoting socially inclusive and sustainable sanitation facilities requires improvement in households' ability to afford through higher per capita income.It is also essential to improve literacy levels, public expenditures, and the involvement of women in the initiatives in order to create awareness and willingness to pay for and use latrines.Further, addressing socioeconomic and demographic aspects is necessary while fine-tuning the existing programs and their implementation and designing future ones.
The paper takes a different approach to existing studies.Studies often focus on how sanitation services are hindered by certain factors ranging from a lack of latrines or faulty construction to deep-rooted cultural taboos (Doron and Jeffrey 2014;Coffey et al. 2017;Hathi, Spears, and Coffey. 2016;O'Reilly, Dhanju, and Louis. 2017b;Bharat, Dkhar, and Abraham 2020;Exum et al. 2020).Poor households generally prefer to spend on other essential services like healthcare and education, and sanitation seems to be less of a priority (Mulumba et al. 2014;Sy, Warner, and Jamieson 2014).Financial constraints along with cultural stigma associated with toilets often hinder people from spending on sanitation.Hence, public expenditure covers the costs of constructing toilets and thus reduces the burden on households (Ginneken, Netterstrom, and Bennet 2011).Insights from the paper suggest that it is crucial to fine-tune policies and institutional arrangements so that private expenditure is able to crowd in to ensure a sustainable sanitation environment.It is also crucial to increase awareness of the importance of sanitation for well-being.Nevertheless, a more robust conclusion on changes in sanitation behavior following the initiation of the SBM requires a deeper understanding of the qualitative aspects, such as the behavioral patterns of the households.This is beyond the scope of this paper, but it leaves an important area for further research.

CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Publicly funded initiatives like the SBM can play an important role as the catalyst in improving the sanitation environment and construction of latrines.However, it is not sufficient to construct latrines to resolve the problem of open defecation.The paper finds that the IHHL coverage is positively correlated with the household per capita income as well as the government expenditure on sanitation.Thus, one may expect that the SBM's provision of latrines and sanitation campaigns will result in crowding in of private spending.However, creating awareness is crucial in this regard.Therefore, the possibility of public-private partnerships for expanding sanitation facilities should be explored instead of relying only on government spending (Van Dijk 2008).
In the Indian context, although government programs successfully construct latrines, there is a lack of proper use and maintenance (Harris 2014; Jain and Subramanian  2018; Gupta et al. 2020). 11Private investment in water and sanitation is still very limited in India (Wu, Schuyler House, and Peri 2016), and this can potentially limit the use of the facilities.Hence, there is a need for an emphasis on developing supporting facilities such as water supply, electrification, etc. in rural areas.Further, in order to solve the issues and constraints associated with governmental programs on sanitation, it is often suggested to engage community-based organizations and NGOs towards creating awareness, particularly amongst women, sensitizing the community, and providing other supports.
The demonstration effect can potentially be an effective way to encourage people to adopt better sanitation practices.When people observe their community members practicing good sanitation habits, they may be more likely to adopt those behaviors themselves.It is, therefore, imperative for sanitation and hygiene programs to include more participation by people.When community members are involved in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of sanitation programs, they become more aware of the importance of proper sanitation practices.They are more likely to adopt and sustain them.A community-driven approach to public policy will increase its effectiveness by ensuring that it is tailored to local needs and circumstances (Rashid and Pandit 2017;Davis, Javernick-Will, and Cook 2019).Therefore, community participation is a critical component of any successful sanitation program.
The Sulabh International Social Service Organization is a successful case in the Indian context (Goyal and Gupta 2009) that partners with local government bodies to extend sanitation services in urban areas.The local government bears the capital expenditure, whereas the day-to-day maintenance, including staff, is provided by the NGO (Chary, Narender, and Rao 2003).Similar models can be explored in a rural context, with the local panchayat having a crucial role in monitoring and facilitating the activities.
The success story of the Sulabh International Social Service Organization shows that a public-private initiative in providing sanitation services can be more successful vis-à-vis publicly funded initiatives.Individual involvement, community participation, and social audits can also solve the free-rider problem associated with free goods.In addition, the construction of latrines at the household level is linked with the neighborhood sanitation arrangements.Thus, community participation in sanitation initiatives is also crucial for resolving cultural constraints and bringing in more private expenditure on sanitation.Therefore, future policy measures should ensure greater participation by the community and individuals.b Electricity has a special significance when it comes to the usage of sanitation facilities during the dark hours.Access to electricity has a positive association with both latrine ownership and usage (Lee 2017).One may feel that a lack of basic amenities such as water supply and electricity may obstruct the usage of latrines.Hence, a comprehensive analysis of households' sanitation behavior would also require a deeper understanding of the availability of other related facilities such as water and electricity.c Indicates the improvement to the existing sanitation facilities.
Note: *Neg.(or negligible) indicates a very low percentage due to only a few cases.
Source: National Family Health Survey (4th and 5th Round), Government of India.
The fifth round of the NFHS defines better sanitation facilities as a shift from "[f]lush to a piped sewer system, flush to septic tank, flush to pit latrine, ventilated improved pit (VIP)/biogas latrine, pit latrine with slab, twin pit/composting toilet, which is not shared with any other household" (NFHS, 2019-21).Appendix Table 2 shows that households in different states have recorded an improvement in sanitation practices.India experienced an average increase of 10% in households with access to toilets between 2105-16 and 2019-21.Since the data in the fifth round of the NFHS comprise the post-SBM scenario, one may argue that the SBM has contributed significantly to this development.Available data also indicate that 90% of the households from almost all the Indian states could also use improved water sources more safely than their earlier source of drinking water.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework on Public-Private Expenditure for Sanitation Environment

Table 3
presents the changes in individual household latrine (IHHL) coverage in Indian states from 2014-15 to 2018-19, i.e., after the initiation of the SBM.It is found that in many of the states, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan, only around a third of the households, or even less than that, had individual latrines in 2014-15, and the situation improved significantly after that with the initiation of the SBM.These states recorded significant changes in IHHL coverage (measured in terms of change in percentage points of IHHL coverage) from 2014-15 to 2018-19.Furthermore, the lower coefficient of variation suggests that the inter-state variations in IHHL coverage also declined considerably during this period.

Table 3 : Changes in IHHL Coverage in the Major Indian States, 2014-15 to 2018-19 a
a Excluding northeastern and hilly Indian states.

Table 4
presents the regression results of the estimated fixed effect models 1 and 2. Model 2 takes the same set of independent variables as Model 1 except for WSS/SSE in place of WSS/RE.The estimated models are statistically significant with a reasonably high explanatory power, whereas low VIF values suggest that the estimated model is unlikely to suffer from severe multicollinearity problems.8Asmentioned above, all the variables are measured on a natural logarithmic scale to reduce the possibility of a heteroskedasticity problem.Further, in both cases, lagged per capita net state domestic product (PCNSDP), literacy rate, sex ratio, and public expenditure on WSS have significant positive coefficients.Notably, GSVA has no considerable impact on IIHL coverage.