The next big business opportunity for India may be not in artificial intelligence, electric vehicles or financial technology. It could be from a resource that is growing ever more difficult to control, water. Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has pointed to an increasing disconnect in India’s development story where some of the fastest growing sectors in the country also happen to be the biggest water guzzlers.
“Four key growth sectors for India – food production, nuclear energy, pharmaceuticals and data centres – are growing in already water-stressed regions,” Kamath said. Food, nuclear, pharma, data centre. India's 4 biggest growth bets are all water guzzlers, built in states that are already running dry The resource is free of charge. The metering is only beginning.
“Somewhere in that gap is a company worth building...”
His observation has triggered a larger conversation around whether India’s water challenge could create the foundation for the next major business opportunity.
India’s growth story meets a water challenge
India’s economic ambitions depend heavily on sectors that require large amounts of water. Agriculture supports food security and rural livelihoods. Nuclear power is expected to play a bigger role in clean energy plans. Pharmaceutical manufacturing continues to expand globally. Meanwhile, the data centre industry is growing rapidly due to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services.
