(Image source from: Bill Gates to "reinvent" Indian toilets!})

Narendra Modi's courageous but controversial comment -"toilets first, temples later" - might have landed him in hot waters, drawing a flak from the opponent and allies alike. But amidst all the hullabaloo and war of words, his issue of sanitation seems to have finally found a billion-dollar taker.

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has launched a new challenge through his Bill and Melinda Foundation — "Reinvent the Toilet challenge – India" — in collaboration with the Government of India. Recognizing the need for better sanitation in a developing country like India, Gates' Foundation has hurled a new challenge, “inviting innovative sanitation technologies, to develop sustainable sanitation solutions which will help not just India but other developing countries.”

"Last year we issued a call to reinvent the toilet. Now we're issuing one specifically for #India," Mr Gates tweeted today.

Poor sanitation has been on of India's biggest woes. “An estimated one billion people defecate in the open in the world and India is home to 638 million of these - over 50 per cent of the population. Also, 60 per cent of the world's population without access to a toilet are in India.”

Its poverty that is depriving Indians of basic sanitation, thereby leading to severe health hazards.

A recent UNICEF report  revealed that poor sanitation is to be blamed for the thwarting the growth of 62 million children under five years of age in India.

While India focuses on issues like General Assembly elections and territorial tiffs, the big question is how Gates-government initiative will bring change for millions of Indians?

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury