Maharashtra
Swachh Bharat Mission drives toilet cleaner usage in India by 53pc in 2024
New Delhi, Dec 16 Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission has driven toilet cleaner usage in Indian households by 53 per cent in 2024, according to a report.
The report by Kantar, a market research firm, showed that the country has seen a dramatic rise in the use of toilet cleaners and floor cleaners. From 19 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively of households using these in 2014, it more than doubled to 53 per cent using toilet cleaners and 22 per cent buying floor cleaners in 2024.
Launched by the government on October 2, 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management and to create Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages.
The report attributed the growth of toilet cleaner usage in households to the mission’s success, coupled with marketing efforts. It said the mission significantly improved hygiene awareness and product penetration, particularly in rural areas.
As per the report, over 128 million new households have been added in the toilet cleaners, and 52 million homes in the floor cleaners segment.
The report said the surface cleaner market is about Rs 4,200 crore, with toilet cleaners accounting for half the segment at Rs 2,000 crore.
Kantar said the category was largely urban-centric a decade ago — that’s changed drastically.
A decade ago, 82 per cent of households that bought toilet cleaners were in urban areas, it was 90 per cent for floor cleaners.
“Urban is no longer the dominant source of the category with rural contributing to 52 per cent,” said K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, world panel division at Kantar. “Clearly, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan drove the importance of cleanliness to the Indian households, and simultaneously helped manufacturers to drive penetration of household hygiene categories as well.”
Since its inception in 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has led to over 500,000 villages achieving ODF (Open Defecation-Free) plus status with rural sanitation rising from 39 per cent to 100 per cent.
Maharashtra
40 rain shelters, 08 unauthorized shops, 30 hawkers, 06 vehicular paths removed, joint action by ‘T’, ‘S’ and ‘N’ departments of Mumbai Municipal Corporation

The Mumbai Municipal Corporation is implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign in the Mumbai region (Mumbai city and suburbs). Under this, 40 rain shelters, 08 unauthorized shops and 30 hawkers obstructing footpaths were removed today (August 11, 2026) in the Milind area. This action was taken jointly by the ‘T’, ‘S’ and ‘N’ divisions of the Municipal Corporation. As per the directions of the High Court, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide is effectively implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign to immediately remove unauthorized hawkers and encroachments on footpaths and to make the footpaths free from obstructions.
In this regard, a joint campaign was conducted under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner (T Division) under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone-6) Santosh Kumar Dhonde. Assistant Commissioner (S Division) Samrin Syed, Assistant Commissioner (N Division) Jaideep More
The operation was carried out in the areas of Ram Ratan Trivedi Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Sivaram Lalwani Marg, Ratanji Hirji Bhograj Marg, Jhaveer Marg and Ganesh Gawde Marg as well as Lokmanya Tilak Marg (West) in the ‘T’ zone of the Municipal Corporation. In this, 40 rain shelters built on the footpaths, 08 unauthorized shops, 30 hawkers and 06 carriageways that were obstructing the footpaths were removed. Apart from this, the material obstructing the footpaths was also seized.
The operation was carried out with the help of 10 vehicles, 05 dumpers, 05 JCBs and other equipment along with 13 secondary engineers, 07 licensing inspectors, 66 workers working in Zone 6. Adequate police security was deployed at that time.
Meanwhile, the municipal administration is committed to providing barrier-free and easy footpaths for pedestrians. However, no one should create obstacles on the footpath or carry out unauthorized constructions. The municipal administration is telling that strict action will be taken if this happens.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Mankhurd ATM card fraud two accused arrested

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested two accused who committed fraud by changing ATM cards. On August 5, the complainant had gone to the ATM center at Mangal Murthy Junction to withdraw money. While withdrawing money from the ATM, an unknown person standing behind her saw the PIN of the card. After that, she cleverly changed the ATM rod and withdrew Rs 19,000. The police have registered a case of fraud in this matter and started investigating it. The police had seen three suspicious people from the CCTV footage of the scene who were found withdrawing money from the ATM card. After that, the police identified the accused with the help of CCTV footage. Later, they were arrested. The accused have been identified as Qasim Ali Barkat Ali, 30, and Parvez Akbar Ali Sheikh, 38, both residents of Kalyan. The police are investigating further regarding both of them. Along with this, the police are also finding out how many people they have cheated before. This action was taken by DCP Sameer Sheikh on the instructions of Additional Commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni.
Maharashtra
7 accused arrested in cyber fraud case of over Rs 1 crore in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Cyber Police Station has claimed to have solved the mystery of a cyber crime in which the complainant was threatened with digital arrest on WhatsApp from April 2 to April 18, 2026, and was involved in a money laundering case and was defrauded of Rs 16.74 crore online by sending fake electronic documents. During the technical investigation, the police have arrested 7 accused, identified as Sanjay Hiralal, 57, who used to generate OTPs, the 32-year-old female accused used to hide the fraudulent money, Rishi Ramchandra Meena, 38, who used to transfer the fraudulent money to bank accounts, Naushad Ali, 31, who digitally arrested the complainant and the victim and worked in this gang digitally, Muhammad Khalid Hafeezuddin Saif, 27, a digital expert, Jogesh Mehta, 43, and Zubair Hussain, 27, who helped them deposit the fraudulent money in their accounts. 613 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 5 digital sign devices were recovered from the possession of the accused. SIM cards of several companies, 10 cheque books, 2 passbooks and 2 ATM cards have been seized. DCP Bajrang Bansode told the press conference that there is no such thing as digital arrest and in such a situation, do not keep in touch on unknown social media accounts. If someone threatens digital arrest, do not believe them.
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