Six water and sanitation startups win Rs 25 lakh each at sustainability summit

Bengaluru, Oct 30 (PTI) For 29-year-old Shilpa K Nayana, nothing, not even her four-month-old baby son, Rio aka Rayan Nayana Arjun, could come in the way, as she pitches her already award-winning project Jalam, at Karnataka Water and Sanitation Sustainability Summit held in Bengaluru.
    She was among the 20 startup social entrepreneurs shortlisted from 119 applications to pitch their project at the summit on October 29.
    As the summit wound up late in the evening, six of the 20 were announced as winners of a grant of Rs 25 lakh and a chance to pilot their innovations in collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR).
    Nayana’s project Jalam, a low-cost water filtration technology that can be used at household level as well as community level, was among the six chosen projects.
    "The working cost for decontamination of water with my filter that uses nanotechnology is as low as Rs 2 per litre," said the social entrepreneur who envisioned Jalam as her final year project when she was doing biotechnology and bio-chemical engineering in Thiruvananthapuram, almost six years ago.
    A resident of Kozhikode in Kerala, Nayana said she got lucky because her university funded her project, which she developed to tackle water contamination in the aftermath of 2018 floods, giving her a chance to transition from theory to a product.
    "My guide, retired Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Usha K M, helped me get access to ISRO labs where we could test the product for its viability," said Nayana to PTI.
    Later, as she was doing her MBA at National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surthakal in Mangaluru, she pitched the product at a college fest and got the support to incubate the project.
    "The award at the summit came at a time when I am in a way battling postpartum depression. Besides the money, recognition is working wonders, and I know I am not going to be in this slump anymore," said Nayana, who came to the summit with Rio nestling on her shoulders. Her product is all set to be marketed under her company – Dime Klear Pvt Ltd – that she has floated with a partner.
    One of the other winners of the startup battle is an18-year-old first year student of Computer Science and Data Analytics at Indian Institute of Technology Patna, who along with three other students of Manipal University has developed Magnetic Arsenic Removal Unit (MARU), driven by patented Molecular Magnetic Treatment.
    "We are done with commercial pilot trials at nine schools in Patna, Bhojpur and Baxar of Bihar, but yet to commercialise," said Abhijeet Kumar to PTI after winning the award of Rs 25 lakh at the summit.
    With the help of the Karnataka government, they now plan to conduct a domestic unit trial.
    "We have chosen Yadgir, Raichur and Gulbarga, which are among the 16 districts in Karnataka that were identified with traces of arsenic in their water. These three are the worst affected," said Kumar, who is the Chief Technology Officer of Navmarg Research and Innovation, the company that the four of them have floated to market their product.
    The other winning projects are Biome Environment Trust’s managed aquifer recharge project; REVY Environment Solutions’ waste management solutions; Oceo Water Private Ltd’s water purification system and Krishi Hrudya Pvt Ltd’s technology platform for farmers to improve yields through efficient water usage and soil health.
    Mentioning that it was encouraging to see over 100 entrepreneurs come together specifically for water and sanitation, Minister for Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, and Information Technology & Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge said at the valedictory event on Tuesday evening, that the summit proves if doors are opened wider, a thousand more would likely to join.
    "This summit helped us understand the depth of available technologies and science to conserve, preserve, manage, and produce water effectively. We learned that there is significant knowledge beyond government boundaries, and we are ready to adopt and learn," said Kharge.
    In the coming months, Kharge said Karnataka is likely to launch a nationwide challenge.
    "Why limit ourselves to Karnataka? Let’s learn from and collaborate with other ecosystems. I firmly believe that every innovation in water management, conservation, production, and potability brings us closer to a sustainable future," added Kharge.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)