Blue Elixir, a startup determined to solve the problem of water scarcity in India
There are three root causes of India’s water crisis:
The first is insufficient water per person as a result of continuous population growth.
The second cause is poor water quality resulting from insufficient and delayed investment in urban water treatment facilities.
The third problem is dwindling groundwater supplies due to over-extraction both in urban and rural areas.
Determined to solve the problem of water scarcity through water harvesting, two friends, Nishant Kumar and Utkarsh Upadhyaya, started Blue Elixir. They wish to accomplish this mission by creating awareness and providing technical support to people.
The company laid its foundation in Ranchi November 2015. Nishant hails from Jharkhand and Utkarsh comes from Rajasthan. They started Blue Elixir soon after completing their education.
What does Blue Elixir do and how does it do it?
They implement rainwater harvesting structures. They install zero-liquid discharge systems and plan schemes for watershed management in rural areas.
Blue Elixir uses the following techniques to fulfil its aim:
- Rainwater harvesting and storage: Rainwater is conserved and filtered for further use.
- Groundwater recharge: Rainwater is filtered and then used to recharge the groundwater aquifers.
- Zero-liquid discharge systems: It consists of sewerage treatment plants for households, apartments, hospitals, and more.
- Watershed management: Larger societies, schools, and institutions with great surface runoff and rural areas are considered micro-watershed, and watershed management is done.
Story behind the name of the company
According to Nishant, "We gave a lot of thought to our firm’s name. ‘Elixir’ refers to an immortal potion or ‘amrit’ in Hindi and we represent water with the colour blue. So ‘Blue Elixir’ basically means ‘neela amrit’, that is, water. PS: We are kind of addicted to Clash of Clans. The idea of the word ‘elixir’ actually popped from there. "
Core service offerings
They handle construction and channelisation of a surface and rooftop rainwater harvesting. Zero liquid discharge system and watershed management are the majorly implemented schemes in rural areas.
Revenue growth and projection
According to Utkarsh, "In 2016, we did work of around Rs 20 lakh. This year, with proper management and better reach, we are hoping to generate three times of last year."
What is their market size?
54 percent of India faces high to extremely high water stress. In the initial phase of their business, they are targeting the urban population of cities in the eastern part of the country (Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Patna, Bokaro, Kolkata, etc.).
Funding status
According to Nishant, "We did get some money from our parents for setting up our office. Since we work on a turnkey basis, clients pay in advance. Also, our friends help us if there is an urgent need. So far we never felt the need of raising money because the projects kept coming constantly. However, we are thinking of scaling our service to other cities and states. So we are thinking of raising money this year."
