Socio-Economic Background and Use of Latrine in Rural India:An In-Depth Analysis

As a fitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary, India has set a target of making all gram panchayats 'Open Defecation Free' by the year 2019 under the 'Swachh Bharat Initiative'. Exclusive information/analysis on use of latrine and various socio-economic factors influencing the use of latrine in rural India is required for having a sound policy framework. In view of this an attempt has been made to study the influence of socio-economic factors like social group, religion, gender of head of households, highest level of education among female and male members of households, family size and occupation of the households on the probability of use of latrine by the households. In this study binary logistic regression technique has been applied on the unit level data of survey on "Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition" in India conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Government of India, during July, 2012 to December, 2012. The study reveals that the selected socio-economic factors (except gender of head of households) do have a significant impact on the probability of use of latrine of the households in rural India.