Jal Shakti Ministry Honours Innovations for Rural Water and Waste Solutions

Patil said rural India is witnessing growing plastic waste from packaged products such as snack wrappers and pouches, making local recycling solutions increasingly important.

Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil has called for practical technologies that improve rural drinking water quality and plastic waste management, saying innovation succeeds only when it is affordable, easy to use, and reaches communities that need it most.

Speaking at the Grand Finale of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) Innovation Challenge in New Delhi, Patil said the Jal Jeevan Mission has transformed millions of rural households by providing tap water connections and that the next phase should focus on ensuring every family has access to safe drinking water. He encouraged start-ups, researchers, and innovators to develop low-cost, sustainable technologies that can be easily used by Gram Panchayats, Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), Self-Help Groups, and local youth.

Winning technologies target water testing and plastic waste

The Innovation Challenge, organised by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in partnership with IIT Madras, sought solutions in two priority areas: portable drinking water quality testing under the Jal Jeevan Mission and decentralised plastic waste management under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen). Out of 348 applications, 90 complete entries were received for the water innovation category and 66 for plastic waste management.

Three winners were selected under each category. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, Chembiosens Pvt. Ltd., Jaljyoti Process Pvt. Ltd., and Plastic Surge Industries Pvt. Ltd. were recognised for technologies that improve portable water quality testing, chemical and bacteriological analysis, and field-testing systems designed for village-level use. Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), Crosslinx Pvt. Ltd., BiGlyso Pvt. Ltd., and Vigya Crafts Pvt. Ltd. were honoured for developing affordable and decentralised technologies to process plastic waste locally and promote circular economy practices in rural areas. The selected technologies will now undergo further evaluation for safety, practicality, scalability, and suitability before being considered for pilot implementation in selected villages.

Innovation to support rural livelihoods and sustainability

Patil said rural India is witnessing growing plastic waste from packaged products such as snack wrappers and pouches, making local recycling solutions increasingly important. He noted that transporting such waste to distant recycling centres is expensive and often impractical, making village-level processing systems a better alternative.

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Ashok K.K. Meena said future technologies should be simple, durable, affordable, and suitable for field conditions so they can be widely adopted by Panchayats and local communities. He added that portable water testing devices integrated with mobile applications could improve real-time monitoring, transparency, and decision-making, while decentralised recycling models could reduce environmental impacts and create employment opportunities. The event was attended by Union Minister of State V. Somanna, DDWS officials, representatives from IIT Madras, jury members, innovators, startups, and finalists. Awards were presented to the winning companies by Union Minister C.R. Patil.