India accounts for 60% of the world’s population of open defecators. Approximately 67% of rural India does not have access to toilets and even in urban areas, the 2011 Census data showed that only 32.7% had access to a piped sewerage connection1 . With the current rate of progress the nation will miss the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation – reducing the number of people without access to water and sanitation by half by an astounding 39 years2 . Given this dismal scenario, it’s ironical that the states have been unable to utilize even the available funds. Consequently, the nation is paying the cost for not spending on drinking water and sanitation in the form of loss of working days, increased expenditure on healthcare, school drop outs, malnutrition, anaemia and infant and child mortality.
Amritasa Bio Toilet Ltd. has had several successful corporate partnerships. They often receive enquiries for bio-toilets from different corporate entities. Once the enquiry comes in they send a rate quotation and if selected, they partner to manufacture and provide bio-toilets to these companies, and to beneficiaries as a part of their CSR activities. They first engaged in a pilot for Larsen & Toubro Metro Rail (L&T), an Indian Multinational Company (MNC) with businesses in engineering, information & technology, construction, manufacturing among others, for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in sanitation.
They have also had significant collaborations with PSUs. Their biggest client has been the Indian Railways. They have won bids through a tendering process to supply their innovative bio-technology products and services to the railways on specific rate contracts. They have also entered into an agreement for other services such as 2 AMCs for 4 years and sale of spares for Control Discharge Toilet System (CDTS) to the Indian Railways. This relationship has been productive and is expected to continue in the future.
Benefits to the Corporate Partners
- Creating Value Addition
By partnering with Amritasa Bio Toilet Ltd. , companies have been able to play a critical role in creating sustainable social impact among its workforce, in the communities in which they operate and in the case of the Indian Railways across the nation as a whole, helping address issues of sanitation, health and environmental sustainability. Supporting community based interventions such as this also help companies create visibility and reputation among its unskilled and contract workers.
- Improved Productivity
By providing better sanitation facilities the companies are ensuring their workforce remains healthy by reducing the possibility of being inflicted with water-borne diseases. This is particularly beneficial when the companies have plants in areas that do not have existing access to good quality sanitation facilities. When the workforce is healthy they will be more productive and the company will benefit from more workdays.
- Affordability
The leveraging of technological innovations by Amritasa Bio Toilet Ltd. also helps provide cost leadership and makes the delivery and service of sanitation infrastructure more affordable for its corporate customers.
- Image Building
Installation of bio-toilets in the coaches by the Indian Railways helps provide better service to its customers while also preventing human waste to be disposed on the tracks. There is an immense benefit to families that live close to rail tracks as they get fecal matter free environment. Improved customer satisfaction helps build a better image of the Railways among the travellers and they are more likely to use the services.