25 water tech startups enter semifinal for The/Nudge Prize-Ashirvad Water Challenge

Chennai, June 23 Twenty five water-tech startups have been selected as semi-finalists for 'The/Nudge Prize- Ashirvad Water Challenge' by The/Nudge Institute Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) and Ashirvad Pipes in partnership with the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

Six of the 25 shortlisted organisations are founded by women.

The challenge was opened for applications in February this year. Selected out of a total of 140 applicants, these 25 startups will now compete for a total prize purse of Rs 2.5 crore.

According to a statement issued by The/Nudge Institute Centre for Social Innovation, of the 25 water-tech innovators, four work in the areas of water leakage and distribution, five in wastewater treatment, nine in water purification, three in atmospheric generation of water and four towards enabling water ecosystems.

Many of the semi-finalists use deep tech interventions such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Some are working on efficient ways for rainwater harvesting, watershed management, or membrane filtration for purification.

"It is very encouraging to see that these 25 semi-finalists have innovated and developed potentially scalable solutions that address the most pressing water issues in the country. We are also proud of the fact that women lead several of these startups, working at the cusp of technology and social transformation," Sudha Srinivasan, CEO, The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation was quoted as saying in the statement.

"The/Nudge Prize- Ashirvad Water Challenge aims to nurture technology-based innovations that improve water cycle management. Through this challenge, the focus is to support solutions that improve water quality, enable efficient water harvesting, storage, drainage and reuse, and incentivize behavioral change towards water conservation and waste avoidance," Deepak Mehrotra, Managing Director, Ashirvad Pipes was quoted as saying in the statement.

For the next six months, each semi-finalist will pilot its project and begin user-testing or expand their solution presence across various locations, to understand scalability potential and impact.