Once his products succeed in the cities, Sivakumar plans to take them to India’s villages, many of which do not have easy access to potable water. They also do not have a steady supply of power, but if AGI manages to develop machines that run on solar or wind energy, it will be able to address this problem.
Producing water from air may be an idea whose time has come, especially in a country that is forever short on the precious commodity or it could be one more in a long and growing list of ideas that sound good on paper but are rarely practical—alchemy and the perpetual motion machine would both fall under this category. “He falls for any idea he likes,” says Devdutt, a retired official of the World Health Organization, whose association with Sivakumar goes back four decades. Devdutt uses only one name.
Twenty years ago, when organized retail was still unheard of in India, the TVS Group launched Stop & Shop, a chain of supermarkets. Sivakumar thought there was an opportunity to supply fresh produce to the chain and banded a group of farmers into a loose co-operative that would supply vegetables, sorted and packed in convenient 500g packs.
The failure of that chain stopped that experiment. With Akash Ganga, the stakes are higher—clean water for all—and Sivakumar is determined to succeed.
Sixty in Sixty is a special series that we plan to run through 2007, the 60th anniversary of India’s independence. We will introduce you to sixty Indians—both here and abroad—who are not rich or famous. These are people who are making quiet, but important, contributions without seeking headlines, to help make India and, in some cases, the world a better place. We also welcome your suggestions on people whom you think should be profiled in this series. Please send your suggestions by email to interview@livemint.com
Update: (Tue Apr 08, 2008)
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