Pi-lo dispenses pure, chilled water 24/7 at just Rs 2 for 250 ml and Rs 5 for one litre – four times cheaper than bottled water!

In 2011, when the massive anti-corruption protests led by Anna Hazare swept Delhi, city cleaners also had to sweep away thousands of plastic water bottles. While the protestors were on the roads shouting slogans throughout the day, they needed water to quench their thirst. But access to safe drinking water was a problem. The most convenient option was bottled water. For those who couldn’t afford these bottles priced at Rs 20 each, cheaply available water packets that are largely unsafe for consumption were the only source of water. The city had no other convenient and accessible public sources of drinking water. At the end of the day, many fell ill from drinking contaminated water and the plastic menace was revolting.

Vikas Malik was shocked to see this situation. He wanted to change the scenario and make safe drinking water accessible and affordable for all. With this vision, Vikas joined hands with his friends Jatin Ahlawat, Parveen Singh, Ajay Yadav, and Mohamad Yunus Ansari. “We are a team of engineers, automation experts, water technology experts and social workers. We decided that we will build drinking water ATMs – water vending machines that will dispense water that is purified using Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology at a cost that everyone can afford. With this intent we started Abhyuday Automation in 2013,” says Vikas.

After investing over two years in raising funds and building a robust technology, the team launched water vending machines called ‘Pi-lo’ in 2015.