Vidhya Balan : Brand ambassador for Sanitation Campaign

Vidya Balan has been appointed the brand ambassador for a clean water and sanitation campaign.

It is hoped that her involvement will help create greater awareness of sanitation issues in India.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh told PTI that Balan's involvement would make a positive difference to the campaign.

"She has agreed to give her time for the campaign for two years. She will be fully involved in the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan [the restructured version of the Total Sanitation Campaign]," he said.

"Vidya's involvement in the campaign will help make it a national obsession. This is a clean picture [for Balan]."

Speaking about the campaign, the National Award-winning actress said: "For an actor, what can be a better thing than doing a dirty picture on screen and off screen a clean picture. I think this role will work a lot because we are working on a national movement.

"I think it is a matter [of] great honour for me, becoming the brand ambassador of sanitation campaign. It needs to become a national obsession. I am ready to [do it] in my capacity. I am convinced."

Balan, who will appear in ad campaigns to propagate construction and use of toilets, is the first brand ambassador of the Ministry.

Despite being one of the fastest-growing emerging economies, access to adequate sanitation remains low in India, compared to many other countries with similar or lower GDP.