A water ATM to the rescue

iJal stations ensure that some of India's poorest communities have access to safe drinking water

Picture this. In an area that is so prone to drought that every year debt-ridden farmers commit suicide by the dozen, a man walks up to a counter. With the swipe of a smart card, he buys 20 litres of clean drinking water for Rs 5. The rural entrepreneur selling the water, earns up to Rs 9,000 per month. Through a single intervention — an ATM-like iJal Station, US-based Safe Water Network, SWN, ensures the availability of potable water, and a viable livelihood opportunity for some of India’s poorest and most disempowered communities.”Our aim is to create easily replicable models