Water ATM's need a self sustaining model !

The Govt funded ATM's don't work

Update : Dec 2022 :-

In Karnatak, recently there was an internal survey conducted it is found once again that the Govt funded model ( though the intentions are noble ) does not work. The sorry condition is : They built the ATMs, they couldn't run them, they demolished !

April 2021 

Look at this latest news from Hyderabad, that the Water ATM's installed in 2017, many of them are in defunct condition, meaning , not functioning at all. Why is it like that ? Clearly , they were funded & not run as someone's business. When it's the responsibility by the Govt, who looks over the deliverables ? From the pics in the video , it looks like some NGO from Sweden has donated some money for the project. It's pure waste of money & effort & just faking the people.

Here is an Opportunity

There is an opportunity for private players to run such Water ATM's, they can install & charge Rs. 2- to Rs. 3 per 500ml or so & still make a good amount of money. Any local NGO fund like a Rotary Club from the local area can fund the entrepreneurs and a mediator agency can be appointed to check whether the business is being run properly. 

Alternate ( Better ) Model

Alternatively , an entrepreneur can establish franchise run Water ATM business as well. With a proper training, the entrepreneurs can be trained to operate & maintain these Water ATMs. this needs to be taken very seriously. This should be run as a Business. The idea should be funded as a loan, not the Setup.

New fssai Order for Packaged Drinking Water & Natural Mineral Water

Recent Order by the fssai dtd 26th March 

With ref to this order the fssai has made it compulsory to get BIS license before getting fssai license for Packaged Drinking Water & Packaged Mineral Water. It further says, that there are many manufacturers found who have fssai license & don't have BIS license.

So, let's finally accept, that there ARE producers of Packaged Drinking water without a BIS license, and the govt has accepted this. Though the BIS has made this under it's mandatory certification list, there are many manufacturers : meaning they have a mfg unit 9or claiming to have. 

A Welcome Move 

Now, before applying/Renewal, fssai will require the BIS valid registration copy to be uploaded on their portal. It says :-

Little More Clarification Needed 

1. fssai says FBO. FBO means food business operators. It consists of producers (manufacturers) as well as the distributors as well. Both require registrations/licenses. I am sure the new order is for those who claim they manufacture PDW or NMW, still it should be made clear as to, in case of a distributor or a co-packer, what should be the pre-condition, as they use someone else's BIS certifications.
2. Secondly, some more clarification needed for other types of water such as Alkaline Water, Flavoured Water, Aerated Water, Tonic Water. They can be registered with fssai without the BIS license. There should be certain clear order on this.

Banning Bottles below 1 Ltr : Is this a correct step towards restricting pollution ?

Recently , The Mokokchung district administration, Nagaland exercised a complete ban on Packaged Drinking Water Bottles below 1 ltr. Many states have experimented this in past or even in present. 

What may be the general strategy ?

The admin must have implemented this to reduce the number of bottles with smaller denomination, indirectly reducing the total plastic. Looks right, at the face of it. Let's verify, whether it really serves the purpose.

• It acts as a breakdown measure, something done to temporarily address the situation, not attacking the cause.
• The cause is the habit of littering. Is something done to educate people on this aspect parallelly ?
• There should be a drive to promote reverse vending machine usage at public places. This educates & rewards people more.
• For recycling, some special "Feel Good" drive should be implemented by the govt. This will encourage citizens to recycle the plastic PET bottles. 
• As it is, almost 90 per cent of PET is recycled. There is no much point to include smaller bottles in the ban. This decreases the convenience of travelers and increases the usage of bigger sized bottles which provokes wastage of water ultimately.

In general, the policy looks good, however, the recycling should be more emphasized in parallel.