The first year of the campaign saw several activities conducted, encouraging the adoption of safe sanitation and hygiene. The Swachhata Express was flagged off by Kiran Bedi, in an effort to raise awareness on sanitation and hygiene. The Express traveled to 8 states over a period of 75 days to spread awareness on sanitation. NDTV and Dettol also came together during Season One to organise hand washing activities in several states. For the first time, a 12-hour telethon was held to popularise awareness on sanitation, and resulted in Rs 281 crore being raised.