India's target of 111 mn toilets in 5 yrs brings windfall for companies

The scale-up of latrines and a nationwide campaign to encourage their use is driving a market for toilet-related products and services that's predicted to double to $62 billion by 2021

India is on the greatest toilet-building spree in human history, and it’s a windfall for companies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $20 billion “Clean India” mission aims to construct 111 million latrines in five years. Besides promising to improve the health, safety and dignity of hundreds of millions of Indians, the national hygiene drive has spurred an 81 per cent jump in sales of concrete building materials and 48 per cent increase in bathroom and sanitaryware sales, according to Euromonitor International. That’s benefiting firms from Tata Group, the nation’s largest conglomerate, to cleaning-products maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc.

Toilets on a