“CPHEEO manuals” is developed and published by The Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), is Technical Wing of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, and deals with the matters related to urban water supply and sanitation including solid waste management in the country. The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, is nodal Ministry in charge of various aspects of Urban Development including Urban Water Supply and Sanitation in the Country.

The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development developed and published the “National Urban Sanitation Policy” in 2008. The document is quite comprehensive and detailed. It lays out a vision for urban sanitation in India. It instructs states to come up with their own detailed state-level urban sanitation strategies and City Sanitation Plans. It moots the idea of totally sanitised and open-defecation cities as a target and the setting up of a multi-stakeholder City Sanitation Task Force to achieve this. Environmental considerations, public health implications and reaching the unserved and urban poor are given significant emphasis in the policy. Funding options are laid out including direct central and state support including through existing schemes, public-private partnerships, and external funding agencies. It directs that at least 20% of the funds should be earmarked towards servicing the urban poor. The Center also plans to institute awards to the best performing cities, reminiscent of the Nirmal Gram Puraskar awards for villages.