Years after moving from his hometown in Bihar's Madhubani to Mumbai's slums in search of a better life, a 20-year-old found his community facing another struggle – wastewater pooling around homes and increasing exposure to waterborne diseases such as dengue, malaria and typhoid, conditions that eventually prompted him to explore an innovation aimed at addressing the problem.

He estimated that nearly 18,000 million litres of wastewater are discharged every day, of which only 20 to 30 per cent is treated. (Representative Image/Unsplash)

Twenty-year-old Piyush Jha has developed a decentralised, modular wastewater treatment system designed to make treatment more practical and affordable, initially targeting the industrial sector – an innovation that has been recognised by the United Nations Development Programme in India through its entrepreneurship programme 'Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge'.

Speaking to PTI on the occasion of World Rivers Day, Jha said his innovation seeks to address one of the major sources of pollution in India's water bodies – the discharge of untreated industrial wastewater.

He estimated that nearly 18,000 million litres of wastewater are discharged every day, of which only 20 to 30 per cent is treated.

"We don't require any chemical dosing to treat wastewater, nor do we require heavy civil infrastructure. The current water treatment plants require heavy civil infrastructure just to get started, which is a major concern for manufacturing and processing plants in India," he said.

Asked about the scope of the project, Jha said it indirectly impacts the common person by providing industries an affordable water treatment solution.

It targets sectors including textile, leather, food and beverages, distillery, paper pulp, and sugar – industries that generate heavily biodegradable waste – Jha said, adding that the technology relies on microorganisms to break down waste and generate electricity in the process.

"When small and medium-scale industries get an affordable water treatment solution, they're less likely to discharge toxic wastewater into water bodies. It also helps them financially. An industry may earlier spend ₹20 lakh on operational costs for water treatment, which our pretreatment solution reduces to ₹5 to 7 lakh," he told PTI.

Discussing the industries that have approached him with opportunities, the 20-year-old entrepreneur said his company has already begun working with several partners.

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These include Indra Water, a Mumbai-based Indian cleantech startup that designs compact, decentralised wastewater treatment systems, and Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, a sweets and snacks enterprise based in Pune. He also received a conditional purchase order from Dahej Waste Service, a Bharuch, Gujarat-based provider of commercial and industrial cleaning and waste management services.

Looking back on his journey, Jha recalled that the idea behind his work took shape during the Covid-19 pandemic, when his mother helped him arrange a second-hand laptop.

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Thereafter, he researched the various opportunities and programmes that other students and young leaders were pursuing at the time.

"I don't have any formal degree in water treatment engineering. I'm the first in my family to start a company, since we come from a lower-middle-class background where even landing a job at a big firm is considered a huge dream. I left my college, DG Sanghvi College in Mumbai, where I'd scored 98 percentiles in MHT-CET, to go all in on this startup," Jha told PTI.

"This isn't a one-man effort. Several organisations, NGOs, and incubators have supported us, including UNDP, the Ministry of Electronics, and a Mercedes-Benz fellowship, among others," he added.

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Detailing his association with UNDP India, he said the programme 'Youth Co:Lab' provided him access to mentors across industries, investor connections, and a three-month training programme, adding that even non-winning participants received mentorship from industry professionals.

"I was also invited to a four-day bootcamp in Hyderabad, where I secured two major partnerships, including one with a public limited company that we'll be collaborating with soon," he said.

Jha added that UNDP's support extended well beyond mentorship and an initial grant, as it also facilitated follow-on funding through its partners and helped connect his innovation with industries in the chemical, textile, and leather sectors to secure further partnerships and pilot opportunities.

The Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge is a youth-led social innovation and entrepreneurship programme co-led by UNDP India and the Citi Foundation, in collaboration with NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission, and implemented by T-Hub.

The initiative supports young entrepreneurs working on solutions to pressing development challenges.