Survival Tech Gets A Head Start

THE ELDERLY in Karnataka often say “maley beley channagi aagli” (let there be good rains and harvest for the year) while blessing youngsters. That is just what Bengaluru residents need after a brutal summer causing acute water shortage. Triggers include climate change, disrupted/delayed rains and excessive use of groundwater.

Cities across India are facing water problems. Niti Aayog’s “Composite Water Management Index,” published in June 2018, says India faced the worst water crisis in history with nearly 600 million people facing high to extreme water stress. India was ranked 120 among 122 countries in water quality index; 70% of its water was contaminated.

One of the biggest reasons for the water crisis is changing weather systems. With 54% of the Indian population dependent on agriculture, this is a major concern. According to the recent Monetary Policy Report of Reserve Bank of India, climate change directly impacts inflation by affecting agricultural production and global supply chains. “In the absence of any climate mitigation policies, the long-term output will be lower by around 9% by 2050 vis-à-vis a ‘no climate change’ scenario,” says the report.

To cater to the rising water needs of agriculture and industry amid such challenges, a host of start-ups have come up with solutions. These are early days but their aim is clear — reuse and recycle water. Investors, too, are backing them. According to global consulting firm FSG’s climate-tech report, India attracted investments of $2.2 billion in 2020, $4.2 billion in 2021, $5 billion in 2022 and $2.8 billion till November-end 2023. Mobility and energy sectors got nearly 94% of the funds. There has been an uptick in global climate-tech financing too with 108% growth from 2019 till 2022. Investments peaked at $73 billion in 2021. There was a significant decline in 2022 due to poor macro conditions. Investments in Indian start-ups working on environmental technology have also been fluctuating. According to data intelligence platform Tracxn, 2022 saw the highest funding of $2.5 billion. First quarter of 2024 has seen an inflow of $255 million.

However, data on funding of food, agriculture and land use companies shows a bleak picture. Till now , public institutions have been at the forefront of climate change technology R&D, says Rishi Agarwal, MD & head, Asia, FSG. “We need significant ramp-up in private investment in climate-focused R&D. The Union Budget announcement of a ₹1 lakh crore corpus to encourage private sector investment in R&D in sunrise sectors is welcome,” he says.

While innovation in agricultural inputs has largely been the domain of trusts and public institutions, most Indian start-up business models are centred around output (everything from post-harvest to produce hitting markets).

One such company is Wadhwani AI, an artificial intelligence institute for social impact that works with ministry of agriculture, governments of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and channel partners who work directly with farmers.

Agreeing that climate change challenges and solutions are at a nascent stage in India, J.P. Tripathi, director, Agriculture Programmes, Wadhwani AI, says building tech solutions for India on data sets is very complex given the multitude of agro-climatic zones, crop patterns and pests as opposed to countries with two-three agro-climatic zones. Convincing farmers on benefits of technology is also a challenge.

This was evident in response to CottonAce, an AI-powered early warning system aimed at pest control through an app, despite 80-85% accuracy. “In 2022, we reached out to 30,000 farmers. Only 3,000 used it. The word ‘artificial intelligence’ sounds complex to farmers and implementation partners and acts as a deterrent,” says Tripathi. In 2023, it approached 1.16 lakh farmers, of which 50,000 were supposed to use it, but only 15,000 did. Even among farmers who used CottonAce, implementation was 15-20% of what had been advised due to non-availability of agri inputs. Those who followed the advice saw an 11-12% increase in production.

Public institutions such as Indian Institute of Science and University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, have collaborated on several research projects at crop production level such as use of beetroot as biocontrol in mixed-cropping systems. Similarly, Foundation for Science and Development, a not-for-profit company floated by IISc., is carrying out research on getting more value from agri produce. Amitava Pramanik, who heads Targeted Reach Initiative programme, says they are developing machinery for extraction of fibre from agri waste.

While several organic farm-to-table start-ups have got involved with farmers at growing stage, others like Ninjacart, FarmersFZ Kisan Mandi and DeHaat provide marketplace services. They use technology for procurement & sales and prediction of demand and prices.

Otipy, founded in 2020 by serial entrepreneur Varun Khurana, uses its predictive modelling algorithms with historical pricing, demand data and other inputs to tell farmers what to grow. “Last season, we sold watermelons with yellow flesh, which have a 3x mark-up compared to the red ones. We convinced farmers by assuring them that we will buy,” says Khurana.

Otipy serves Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with 20,000-plus farmers in 10-12 states. In March 2022, it raised ₹235 crore in its Series B round led by Westbridge Capital and existing investors SIG and Omidyar Network India.

Then there is BharatAgri whose revenue model involves doorstep delivery of agri inputs to farmers. It also uses its proprietary data to offer advisory services to farmers through chatbots. Founded by IIT-Madras alumni Siddharth Dialani and Sai Gole, BharatAgri’s Krushi Doctor App provides weather-based crop advisory, personalised crop calendar and video call assistance free of cost. Siddharth spent some time in Israel to understand their agricultural practices. “We have a team of more than 15 agri doctors trained in modern practices. In 2023, more than one crore farmers used the app to get advisory and nearly three lakh farmers made agri input purchases from the app,” he adds.

Water Crisis

While India is home to over 18% population, it has access to only 4% of the world’s fresh water. Since groundwater is a major source of water for both irrigation and domestic needs, this has led to rapid depletion of water table. While effective rainwater harvesting is important, we will need to treat both stormwater and greywater into potable water. India has over 200 water related start-ups . Many are working on water management solutions. Others are working on increasing supply of potable water. Uravu Labs, started by college friends Swapnil Shrivastav and Venkatesh R.Y., produces water from air. “We use liquid desiccant material to absorb moisture,” says Swapnil. After pilot projects in 2020 with AB Inbev, Radico Khaitan, Coca-Cola India and Pepsi India, the founders decided to focus on the hospitality sector. It has 40 clients, including Citrus and Leela Group, where they provide packaged drinking and sparkling water. In 2023, the company raised $2.3 million in seed funding from JITO Angel Network, Anicut Capital, Speciale Invest and Rocketship.vc.

Another Bengaluru-based start-up, Boson White Water, is turning sewage water into potable drinking water. The company was started by software engineer Vikas Brahmava after he returned from U.K. in 2015. “Our focus is to make this water usable by someone who is exploiting freshwater. The company currently installs equipment at tech parks and large apartment complexes in Bengaluru. The water costs much less than water from tankers,” he says.

But are Indians comfortable with drinking recovered water? Brahmava says the mindset is changing because of the ongoing water crisis. Those who have seen the process and tasted the water are convinced it is cleaner than the water from tankers, he adds. The company raised $4,57,000 from Indian Angel Network in 2022 and is profitable. In drinking water space, Nagpur-based Rite Water Solutions, which focuses on providing clean and safe drinking water, recently secured commercial licence of a mobile/vehicle mounted water purification system technology developed by Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute. This can be used even if there is a high amount of total dissolved solid in the water source. The company, which has raised nearly $14 million till date, has 15 investors, including Sidbi Ventures and Incofin Investment Management.

As the saying goes, if you take care of nature, nature will take care of you.