The consumption of bottled water in India is growing significantly. According to the National Statistical Office’s report of 2019, an estimated 12.2% of urban households rely on bottled water for their drinking water needs - up significantly from 2.7% in 2009.

But the question is: is this water safe?

Corporates and households are the biggest buyers in this $5.55 billion bottled water market in India where brands like Bisleri, Kinley, Bailey etc have seized a recognisable share. However, the market is flooded with unorganised players and that’s where the problem lies.

Speaking to YourStory, Sameer Bharat Ram says that some of the canisters that drinking water is stored in are not even food grade. These plastic containers are recycled so often that they are “no longer safe” to store drinking water – the elixir of life.

It was to solve this problem that Sameer and his co-founders Bharat Govindaraghavan, Balachander G, and Hariharan Vedamurthy started Chennai-based BookWater, one of the world’s first IoT-powered and quality-based water delivery platforms. The startup’s patent-pending technology allows you to scan the QR on a water can and get all relevant details about the quality of water it holds.

BookWater was launched in 2021 but started operations in July 2022.