Tata Swach - Vaada Swach Paani Ka, Vishwas TATA Ka

Its a well known fact that air, food and water are the basic 3 elements for survival. Now with the pollution and its effect we have to repharse the same saying clean air, clean water and clean food are the basic 3 elements for survival. To have a clean potable water is really a boon for the people living on this planet. Unfortunately millions of people in India are deprived of it which leads them to various water bourne diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid, cholera, polio, and gastroenteritis.

According to a 2007 United Nations report, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases. In India, such diseases cause more than 1.5 times the deaths caused by Aids and double the deaths caused by road accidents.

Almost 80 per cent of diseases in developing countries are associated with water, causing some 3 million early deaths, according to a 2009 UNESCO report. In India alone, 380,000 children die each year from diarrhea, according to UNICEF.

Once Mr. Ratan Tata came across a family of 4 balancing on a bicycle, which gave him an inspiration to introduce the cheapest car in the market which would be targeted at the masses. Inspite of all the hurdles, he successfully introduced Nano - the people's car in 2009. The Tata Group also undertook a housing project with the same intent of providing economic accomodation to the masses in Mumbai. Keeping the same thought in mind, the $71-billion Tata Group, one of the oldest business families in India, has come up with a very innovative product

Tata Swach which could be the cheapest water purifier in the world. With the introduction of this economic water purifier the company hopes to save the lives of millions of people who die because of water borne diseases. The Tata Swach meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Swach (which means 'clean' in Hindi) has been developed jointly by the Tata Group's companies Tata Chemicals, Titan, and TCS. The Swach water purifier is based on a concept developed by the TCS Innovation Labs – the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC). Amongst several benefits of Tata Swach, the fact that it needs no electricity, no boiling and no running water are of huge advantage as India has approximately 400 million people who are not having a supply of electricity and running water. By the end of 2009, Swach will be ready for sale in 3 states – Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Swach will be available all over India by June 2010. Considering the low price of Swach, many are already calling it the Tata Nano of water purifiers.

It's cheaper than boiling water, cheaper than bottled water, and 2.5 times less expensive than Hindustan Unilever's low-cost Pureit filter, according to data provided by the companies.

Tata will sell two versions of the 19-litre Swach container, priced at Rs. 749/- and Rs. 999/-, depending on the material used. In the total cost, the cost of the filter alone is Rs. 299/-. The filter will purify 3,000 liters of water – enough for a family of five for a year – before it shuts down automatically. Hindustan Unilever's Pureit filter, which also does not require access to running water or electricity, costs Rs. 2000/-, with a replaceable battery kit that costs Rs. 365/- and can purify 1,500 litres of water. Hindustan Unilever says it sold more than three million Pureit filters for the fiscal year ending March 2009, with sales of Rs. 1.9 billion.

Swach grew out of a decade of research and development.

It uses paddy husk ash as a matrix, bound with microscopic particles of silver to kill the bacteria that cause 80 per cent of waterborne disease. The current model doesn't neutralize chemicals like arsenic and fluoride, which contaminate a part of ground water in India, but future versions will, executives said. Paddy husk ash has long been known for its cleansing properties and India produces about 20 million tons of it a year. Initial production will be one million units of Swach a year from a Tata Chemicals plant in Haldia, West Bengal, with a planned ramp-up to three million units annually within five years. Executives said they plan to invest 1 billion rupees in the project over the next five years, and eventually export the filter to Africa.

For the sale of the low-cost Swach, the Tata group will use its network of companies like Rallis and the Tata Kisan Sansar, a rural-centric resource centre. According to Mr. Ratan Tata the distribution network of Tata Salt will be used to distribute Swach, along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local self-help groups.

Speaking at the launch, Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: "Safe drinking water is the most basic of human needs. The social cost of water contamination is already enormous and increases every year.

Although today's announcement is about giving millions more people affordable access to safe water, it is an important step in the long-term strategy to find a solution to provide affordable access to safe water for all." Commenting on the launch, R Gopalakrishnan, vice chairman, Tata Chemicals, said, "Safe drinking water is a basic human right. Tata Swach combines technology, performance, convenience and above all affordability to serve this basic human right of millions of consumers. The company has made affordability an important part of its innovation efforts. Tata Swach can play its part in the national efforts to reduce water-borne diseases."

S Ramadorai, vice chairman, TCS, said: "It was the pressing need of people trapped by the effects of natural disasters such as the Tsunami that saw the deployment of one of the earliest versions of this product. A key part was the insight that a natural material like rice husk can be processed to significantly reduce water-borne germs and odours when impure water is passed through it. At TCS, we are enormously proud to have played our part in originating this technology which TCL has made into a consumer-friendly offering."

Murali Sastry, chief scientific officer, Innovation Center said, "It is an enormous privilege to be a part of the development team on a project which has the potential of positively impacting the lives of millions of people globally."

R Mukundan, managing director, Tata Chemicals, said, "With the launch of Tata Swach, we are taking a small step towards fulfilling our Chairman's vision of making safe drinking water available for all at an affordable cost. Just as Tata Chemicals dedicated itself to the eradication of goitre with Tata Salt, so with the launch of this product we are committing ourselves to work towards wiping out the curse of water-borne diseases."

The Tata Swach is an innovative product from the house of Tatas which uses eco friendly raw material and technology to provide portable water at a very economic price which in itself is a service to society.

Website: www.tataswach.com

Article By - Pranav Joshi

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