Google is partnering with India's Ministry of Urban Development (or MoUD) to help India's citizens locate toilets.
Toilet talk might seem crass, but sanitary lavatories are an serious health issue in India. According to recent research, roughly 70 percent of Indian households don't have a toilet, forcing citizens to defecate and urinate in the open and leading to the spread of harmful bacteria. Google's partnership with India's MoUD should make it easier for people to use a proper lavatory, ultimately improving the nation's public health.
The toilet-locating system will work on Google Maps in a similar way to finding any other resource. By entering keywords like "toilet," "lavatory," "swach," "shulabh," or "shauchalay" (the latter three being Hindi terms for toilet,) people can bring up the nearest clean toilet they can use.
Toilet-Locating Map Apps
Google is Partnering with India's MoUD to Help People Find Clean Toilets
Trend Themes
1. Toilet-locating Map Apps - Developing toilet-locating map apps that can easily locate clean toilets using keywords.
2. Sanitary Lavatories in India - Addressing the health issue of the lack of sanitary lavatories, through innovative solutions.
3. Public Health Improvement Through Sanitation - Creating innovative solutions for proper sanitation that improve public health.
Industry Implications
1. Mapping and Navigation Apps - Incorporating toilet-locating systems into mapping and navigation apps.
2. Sanitation Industry - Developing and advancing the sanitation industry to meet the need for clean toilets in India.
3. Information Technology and Health Care - Exploring the intersection of information technology and health care to find innovative solutions for public health issues like the lack of proper sanitation.