According to sources, Narendra Modi chose the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the revered independence leader, to launch the five-year drive, which also aims to provide hundreds of millions with toilets.
Following the launch of campaign all across India, groups of people were seen with pans, brooms and brushes. One group swept the pavements of Delhi’s upmarket Golf Links neighbourhood. Another tackled the spit-spattered stairwell of a large ministry.
Indian Prime Minister, who has long made cleanliness and hygiene a prominent theme in his speeches, called on compatriots not to let India remain unclean any longer earlier this week.
The new campaign is expected to cost 620bn rupees (£6.1bn), with three quarters coming from the corporate sector, international development organizations and elsewhere, revealed sources.
