Exploring creative business solutions to India’s drinking water problem
India has two big problems with drinking water – lack of access and poor quality. Women in low-income families spend hours each day fetching water for their families. Those that have access to 
water often receive poor quality water. Consumption of contaminated water is the reason why millions of Indians, mostly children, are affected by waterborne diseases. Ill-effects of drinking contaminated water range from diarrhea to arsenic-induced cancer.
At the macro-economic level, contaminated water costs India billions in economic losses each year. In spite of water being a basic necessity with potential for widespread demand and social impact, venture capital funds and seed investors have shied away from drinking water companies serving the masses. What are India’s masses able and willing to pay for safe drinking water? Can sustainable and profitable businesses be built at these price points? These are some of the challenging questions we seek to answer in this report on water.
This report is composed of six articles on the drinking water sector in India:
- Quenching the thirst of India’s masses
- 10 facts about drinking water in India that may just make you sick
- So many water treatment techniques, so few that truly work
- Creative business solutions to India’s drinking water problems
- Investors to water companies: “Show me the money!”
- I want a new drink – a company we’d interest in
