Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Primary Objective

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, also known as the Clean India Mission, was a nationwide campaign launched by the Government of India on October 2, 2014. Its primary aim was to accelerate efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and improve the level of cleanliness across the country.

Understanding the Mission's Goal

The core objective of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was fundamentally about improving the lives of citizens by ensuring a cleaner environment. This involved:

• Making India Open Defecation Free (ODF) by facilitating the construction of toilets.
• Ensuring effective management of solid and liquid waste.
• Promoting sanitation awareness and behavioral change towards sustainable sanitation practices.
• Achieving the goal of 'Swachh' (Clean) India.

Analyzing the Options

Let's look at why the other options were not the primary objective of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:

• Promoting digital payments: This objective is primarily associated with initiatives like the Digital India campaign, not Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• Providing rural housing: While sanitation facilities are often linked to housing, the main goal of providing houses falls under different government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
• Creating jobs in the rural sector: Although the mission did generate employment opportunities, especially in construction and sanitation services, job creation was a secondary outcome, not the main stated objective.

Conclusion on Objective

Based on the mission's focus and implementation, the most accurate objective was indeed achieving universal sanitation coverage. This encompassed building toilets, ensuring their usage, and promoting overall cleanliness and hygiene across both rural and urban areas.