IndiaPosted at: Sep 14 2018 3:31PM ShareOver 83 9 million toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat MissionNew Delhi, Sep 14 (UNI) Over 83.9 million household toilets have been constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission.As a result, 19 States/Union Territories, 447 districts, and approximately 440,000 villages have declared themselves as free from open defecation, officials of the Ministry of Drinking water and .Sanitation have said.Since the inception of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) program, the rural sanitation coverage of India has increased significantly, from 39 per cent in October 2014 to over 92 per cent as of end of August 2018, Mr Parameswaran Iyer (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation said during a briefing session held here on Thursday evening on the upcoming Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC)..The number of people practicing open defecation in rural India has gone down from 550 million in 2014, to less than 150 million today, they said.The Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC) is a four-day international conference scheduled to be held here from September 29-October 2.The convention will bring together ministers and other leaders from over 50 countries around the world in order to both showcase India's progress and learn about the best Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices across the globe.UNI NY AR 1531