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Cost Benefit Analysis of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – Joint study with UNICEF

Proving that a development intervention works is an uphill task. Establishing causation is a really tricky area, and one that is influenced by many factors. This is where a well-thought out methodology comes in. Take, for instance, the joint study by Unicef New York, Unicef New Delhi and NEERMAN, published in World Development (Vol 134, dated Oct 2020).

Called the ‘Comparison of the costs and benefits of the Clean India Mission’, the study reports the first economic analysis of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission.

Launched in October 2014 as the world’s largest sanitation campaign, the Swachh Bharat Mission is a flagship initiative by the Government of India. The study aimed to estimate and compare major economic costs and benefits when sanitation improves in a household.

The methods — how this was done

Household surveys from twelve Indian states that once contributed to over 90 percent of open defecation in India were referred to for cost-benefit model inputs. Published literature and secondary data was also referred to in the study.

The time and money spent by households in building and maintaining toilets was monetised. Along with this, the government’s investments on subsidies and campaign activities was also looked at.

Reductions in medical costs and mortality associated with diarrheal diseases, productive time saved from fewer diarrhoea cases and accessing outside defecation options, and increase in the property value of having a toilet were all monetised. To quote, a “..probabilistic uncertainty analysis assessed the combined effect of key modelling assumptions and sampling errors in the inputs to the cost-benefit model.”

What the study found

The five key findings were eye opening, to say the least:

  1. Each household was found to gain USD 727 per year — a significant amount given that Some 220 million Indians sustained on an expenditure level of less than Rs 32/day, as per 2013 figures (Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/economy/how-india-remains-poor-it-will-take-7-generations-for-india-s-poor-to-reach-mean-income–68898).
  2. The average toilet cost USD 396, which is double of the Government subsidy received.
  3. Over 10 years, the household was found to recover 1.7 times of the cost.
  4. Over the same period (a decade), the returns to society is found to be 4.3 times the cost.
  5. Among those surveyed, the poorest have a financial return of 2.6 and societal return of 5.7 times the cost.

Thinking beyond the study

This kind of study, besides proving beyond doubt the efficacy of a development intervention, also makes a strong case for investment in poverty reduction and health enhancement initiatives in general. It could become one among the reasons that establish the fact that development indicators, when done right, can be a powerful push towards economic and social well-being too, which, in turn, makes a case for companies to invest in such initiatives, even beyond the stipulated CSR spends.

The World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Social Mobility Report 2020: Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative’ created a stir when it reported that Indians born in low-income families would take seven generations to even approach the country’s mean income. Powerful research can be the wind beneath the wings of powerful programming that can challenge this status quo and set the ball rolling towards achieving Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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As a Research Assistant, Alron provides support on projects, proposals, data analysis, ideation. He has over two years of experience in MIS, economic analyses, and policy research writing. He is passionate about migration-refugee crisis, decoding and mitigating disinformation mechanisms, and has written extensively on these topics, among others.

Alron holds a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a Diploma in International Affairs.

As a Research Assistant, Alron provides support on projects, proposals, data analysis, ideation. He has over two years of experience in MIS, economic analyses, and policy research writing. He is passionate about migration-refugee crisis, decoding and mitigating disinformation mechanisms, and has written extensively on these topics, among others.

Alron holds a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a Diploma in International Affairs.

Hrishikesh works as a Research Assistant at NEERMAN where he applies his skills to the development of impact assessment. Apart from this, he volunteers his time by working for various projects and activities associated with the Rotaract.

He holds a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Mumbai.

Anshuman manages our survey research and data division. He leads a critical position that ensures researchers need for quality data are met on time and within budget.

He has an MPhil in Population Studies from IIPS, Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Population Education and Rural Development from the University of Lucknow. Prior to joining NEERMAN, he worked with UNICEF (UP) and IIPS.

Rupam is working as a Senior Research Associate at NEERMAN. She has over 4 years of work experience in social/ development sector. Her area of interest is in domains like population and development, maternal and child nutrition, education, reproductive and child health, gender issues, transgender study etc. She holds her Master's degree in Population Studies from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS, Mumbai) and Bachelor’s from University of Delhi.

Anil has more than 25 years of experience in the area of data management and analysis. Previously he has worked with Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd. He is adept in facilitating operations for projects using CSPro (Version 7.6) Data Entry package and analysis of data using statistical package for social science (SPSS). He has proven ability in maintaining large databases and conducting field training of CAPI related aspects.

Free or highly subsidized power for farm irrigation has been a cornerstone of India’s agricultural policy since the 1970s, but it also results in high subsidies, technical and commercial losses, and ultimately poor service to the consumers.  Government of India is investing billions to separate feeders that supply power to farmers from other consumers for better regulation, measurement and quality of supply. However, no robust evidence was available on whether and how these infrastructure improvements benefit the end consumers.  NEERMAN in partnership with Asian Development Bank and Central Discom Madhya Pradesh undertook an impact evaluation of the Feeder Separation Project in Madhya Pradesh. The study proved that feeder separation benefit farm and non-farm consumers by decreasing power theft, increasing coverage of electrical connections, reducing irrigation, and reducing the use of diesel.

Read the study results in this published manuscript (paid access) or the summary in our blogs.

In a partnership between UC Berkeley, UCSF, IFPRI and NEERMAN – one of the largest mHealth programmes in the world with support from the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of India. The study included multiple types of evaluations at multiple points in time. In addition to a strong research role from proposal to publication stages, NEERMAN also collected data from over 800 villages in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and 6000+ mother-child dyads, 1500+ community workers for the evaluation and several interim surveys for process evaluation using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study identified what mHealth can and cannot do and resulted in programmatic and policy decisions at national level about revamping the technology for nutrition programmes.

The study is published in a peer-reviewed journal – British Medical Journal (BMJ).

 

NEERMAN in collaboration with UNICEF and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation undertook a CBA of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Data came from household surveys from twelve Indian states that once contributed to over 90 per cent of open defecation in India. The time and money spent by households in building and maintaining toilets were monetised. Along with this, the government’s investments in subsidies and campaign activities were also costed out. Reductions in medical costs and mortality associated with diarrheal diseases, productive time saved from fewer diarrhoea cases and accessing outside defecation and an increase in the property value of having a toilet were all monetized as benefits. The findings of this study were presented to a high-power committee led by the chief economic advisor of India and used by the PMO and other prominent ministers as proof of the success of SBM.

The study findings are also published in the World Development Journal.

NEERMAN was the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning partner for UNICEF’s Adolescents Empowerment Programme for a period of three years between 2016-2019. Under the partnership, NEERMAN collaborated in developing the monitoring-evaluation-learning framework and plans for the national programme, collected multiple rounds of monitoring surveys across four programme states, developed android and multilingual quarterly process motoring systems for partner NGOs of UNICEF. Further, we managed data from multiple sources and analysed it for actionable inputs, conducted secondary data analysis to generate policy insights, participated in national and state workshops as a technical resource agency and advisors, helped several state offices develop monitoring systems and design evaluations in the child protection sector.

Primer on Non-Research aspects of Research in India

This primer is specially written for international researchers, universities and Institutes working or want to work in India.
The primer gives an overview of taxation, visa, insurance, ethics, and contracting and funding research in India. We have also included suggestions and tips to help avoid costly mistakes international researchers often make.

Non Research Aspects of Research in India

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Randomised Controlled Trial – Concepts, Designs, and Implementation

Dr. Sumeet Patil - Founder and Research Director at NEERMAN - has covered the following key points:
▪️ The concept of 'causality' and why RCTs are theoretically best suited to prove causality
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▪️ Various design options for RCTs in social sciences
▪️ Ethics of RCTs
▪️ Practical insights into the planning and management of RCTs.

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Relevance of Evaluation in Developmental Change

In this video, Dr Milindo Chakrabarti - a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, and a Professor and Associate Dean at Jindal School Of Government and Public Policy - has covered the following key points:
▪️ What is evaluation?
▪️ Why evaluation matters?
▪️ How evaluation contributes to developmental change?

This video will also clarify your doubts about:
▪️ The concept of evaluation and why their importance is magnifying each passing day
▪️ How is evaluation different from monitoring
▪️ When and why should you use evaluations
▪️ Practical insights into how evaluations contribute to the society

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      Pritesh is the backbone of the data processing and analytics division at NEERMAN and is responsible for data reporting, CAPI Design, STATE and ODK work in close collaboration with the Senior Data Manager. He also manages teams of assistants for data processing and QAQC. Pritesh holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai.

      Vishal contributes to every phase of the project life cycle — from design, implementation, to report-making. With his sharp analytical skills and background in Econometrics, he regularly conducts data analysis on Excel and STATA. He has previously worked on a Health Impact Evaluation project and successfully carried out cost-effectiveness analyses using tools like Impact2 and LiST.

      Vishal has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University.

      Simran collaborates with the internal team on research frameworks, CAPI and proposal development.

      Simran has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from KC College, University of Mumbai, and a Master’s degree, also in Economics, from the Mumbai School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Mumbai. After post-graduation, Simran has worked on a project on digital financial Inclusion for migrants, on the Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX 2019), and in behavioural sciences.

      Varsha contributes her quantitative skills as a Research Associate at NEERMAN and works on developing impact assessment and evaluation frameworks. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s in Applied Social Psychology from the Royal Holloway, University of London. Prior to joining NEERMAN, she worked on impact assessment projects in the education sector.

      As a Research Associate at NEERMAN, Debangana collaborates with our partners on projects focusing on qualitative data analysis, process evaluation and documentation. She is also a researcher-in-residence at our Assam field research office.

      Debangana did her Bachelor's in Sociology from the Lady Shri Ram College for Women and has a Master's in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia University. Previously, she has worked at a non-profit focusing on spreading awareness about menstruation and related topics.

      Moushumi Maiti is part of the Research Project management team and is primarily involved in efficient implementation of projects. She has over 6 years of work experience in project implementation, policy research, planning and execution in domains like education, early childhood nutrition, gender and women's issues, disability, and child rights. Moushumi has a double Master's degree in Management from the K J Somaiya Institute of Management Sciences and in Social Work from the Delhi School of Social Work.

      Lancy leads the Operations and Administration Division at NEERMAN. She is responsible for overseeing HR, contracting, regulatory compliance, finance, and taxation.

      Lancy holds a PG Diploma in Finance and a Master’s degree in Commerce, both from the University of Mumbai.

      Suresh heads the field survey and data division at NEERMAN and is responsible for the quality of measurements and data collection. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience in operations and leadership in marketing research. He has overseen both quantitative and qualitative studies during this time.

      Suresh has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and has held leadership positions in survey agencies such as Milward Brown, GfK, and TNS.

      Amit heads the data processing and analytics group at NEERMAN and is responsible for developing android apps for surveys, dashboard visualizations and analyses, CSPro data entry systems, developing monitoring systems using SaaS platforms, quality audits of primary data, and processing of survey data for further analysis.

      Amit holds a Diploma in Marketing Management from the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai, a Diploma in Population Studies from the Indian Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai, and a B.Sc. (Physics) degree from the University of Mumbai.

      OP manages NEERMAN's field surveys in the Central and Northern states of India, in the Hindi-speaking belt. He is a veteran with 25 years of extensive field work experience.
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      He has over 9 years of experience in the domains of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), grant management, fundraising for nonprofits, and strategic institutional partnerships.

      Jijo holds a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

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      He has over ten years of experience managing research including study design, field management, questionnaire design, data analysis, and liaising with government officials, donors, and civil society organizations.

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      Sumeet holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and double Masters degrees in Economics and in Environmental Engineering from the NC State University.

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