MUMBAI: As the global leader in consumer health and hygiene, RB (formerly called Reckitt Benckiser), today announced a 5 year ambitious program in partnership with NDTV and Facebook - “Dettol – Banega Swachh India”. With a commitment of making India healthier and cleaner by 2019, RB has made a commitment to invest a sum of INR 100 crores towards this initiative across the next 5 years. The program aims to spread awareness around the importance of hygiene and sanitations to millions across the country and has introduced Indian film actor and legend, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as the program ambassador for this mega campaign.
With a history of over 150 years of innovation and the DNA engraved in health and hygiene, RB has powerbrands such as Dettol and Harpic, which are considered as gold standard in hygiene and sanitation segments. Through the partnership, RB aims to combine the on-ground expertise and vast presence of NDTV network with the massive reach of Facebook through online and mobile to address one of the most critical challenges faced by our country. NGO partners such as CAF will bring on-board their implementation expertise to execute the programs and will be supported by the Sulabh International & WaterAid as knowledge partners.
To kick off the program, a “Dettol - Banega Swachh India” bus will be flagged off in October, which will cover around 400 villages across 8 states - Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, MP & Maharashtra. The objective of the bus will be to create awareness around hygiene and sanitation through interactive videos, flyer distributions, posters, hand-washing sessions and street plays. The partners in the initiative will continue with an ongoing dialogue for the next year to explore more opportunities for making a difference towards this initiative.
Emphasizing on the lack of hygienic conditions in India, Mr. Nitish Kapoor, Managing Director, RB India said, “As a global leader in consumer health and hygiene, our purpose is to improve the hygiene and sanitation in the daily lives of our consumers. We have been committed to the cause for a long time,
but now it is time to step up and reach out to a much larger audience. Our commitment to the program and collaboration with like-minded partners is just the beginning of our journey towards a healthier and cleaner India by 2019.”
Speaking at the occasion, campaign ambassador, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, said, “There are a few causes that I feel very strongly about like Saving the Tiger, Eradicating Polio and TB. Sanitation has been on my mind for a very long time & when this opportunity presented itself, I had to be a part of this movement. Banega Swachh India is a dream each one of us should have in our hearts and minds and make it a part of our daily lives; only then can our country prosper.”
Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV said, "It is disturbing to realize that for all its many successes India still suffers from lack of sanitation in most parts of the country. NDTV is pleased to support such an initiative. Sanitation is a fundamental human right and we are proud to partner with Dettol, to try to do something about this problem. We hope that we can make a significant contribution to this cause."
"Through Dettol - Banega Swachh India, RB is showing that the right combination of people and technology can lead to effective social solutions that tackle some of the largest and most difficult challenges we face in India,” said Kirthiga Reddy, Managing Director, Facebook India. “ We are excited to join hands with RB and help this national initiative build a presence by reaching over 100 million people on Facebook across India by leveraging our strength in mobile — both smartphone and feature phone. Our collaborative efforts make this movement social, personal and relevant by inspiring people to action through powerful stories to keep India clean.”
