The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2008–2023
Piramal Sarvajal franchised clean water ATMs across India
Sarvajal installs purification units and water ATMs, monitors them remotely, and franchises operation — clean water pay-per-use in rural India.
Piramal Sarvajal
the move
Piramal Sarvajal is an Indian social enterprise headquartered in Ahmedabad that supplies clean drinking water to rural communities through a franchise model of water-dispensing ATMs.
Each site pairs a purification unit with a water ATM, and the Sarvajal Enterprise Management System (SEMS) monitors operations and water quality remotely, so a small local franchise can run the kiosk while the enterprise watches every unit centrally.
The economics are documented in a 2023 SpringerBriefs case study: a purification unit producing about 1,000 liters per hour, operating costs including electricity at around Rs 11 per kWh and staff costs such as a driver at Rs 14,000 and a plant operator at Rs 10,000 per month, showing how the pay-per-liter model can be sustainable.
why it works
- Franchises scale reach without the enterprise owning every site.
- Remote monitoring keeps quality and operations consistent across scattered kiosks.
- Pay-per-use pricing matches the cash flow of low-income customers.
- Standardized purification units make expansion replicable.
what transfers
A pay-per-use machine plus remote monitoring turns a fixed-cost utility problem into a franchise business that can scale without building a company-owned network.
what came after
Sarvajal expanded across Indian states and city partnerships, and its operating-cost model became a reference for sustainable water access ventures in the base-of-the-pyramid literature.
references
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