The builder's path
For: Residents in Indore can't see whether the piped water reaching their street is safe, or report signs of contamination in time.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Madhya Pradesh.
Step 1
Join an incubator or startup mission
They connect you to schemes and officials.
Department of Science and Technology support from idea to startup, through technology business incubators.
The tech industry body; startup programmes and a route to industry partners.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Step 2
Win a seed grant
Prove the idea works with a small, funded prototype.
Seed money through approved incubators for proof of concept, prototypes and trials.
NITI Aayog's mission: Atal Incubation Centres and challenges for social problems.
National AI mission: datasets, compute and calls for AI applications.
Department of Science and Technology support from idea to startup, through technology business incubators.
Step 3
Pilot with a public body
A district, city or department tries it with real people.
The national startup programme: recognition, schemes and a directory of incubators.
NITI Aayog's mission: Atal Incubation Centres and challenges for social problems.
The IT ministry's hub for tech startups, programmes and incubators.
National AI mission: datasets, compute and calls for AI applications.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Runs Indore's piped water supply and complaints.
National portal for drinking water test results.
Responsible for the network and for acting on contamination reports.
Took and tested the water samples during the outbreak.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Problem: Residents in Indore can't see whether the piped water reaching their street is safe, or report signs of contamination in time. Who it hurts: Households in Indore, especially in older neighbourhoods where sewer lines and water pipelines run close together. The moment it hurts: Tap water turns cloudy or smells, and neighbours start falling ill with diarrhoea and vomiting before anyone confirms the cause. What people do today: Residents complain to the municipal corporation one by one; test results are not visible to them, and contamination is confirmed only after an outbreak. Why it is still unsolved: Water quality monitoring was inadequate, pipeline records are incomplete, and complaints from a street are not pooled into an early warning. What solved looks like: A public map of Indore's water quality where residents report dirty water or illness by street through WhatsApp or web, clusters of reports trigger testing, and every test result (coliform, E. coli) is published by area within days. Where: Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.”
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.”
Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Life is short, and Art long; the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult.”
ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρή
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.