INDRA

Indra (also referred to as Indra Water, operating entity Inphlox Water Systems Private Limited) is a Mumbai-based cleantech company that designs and supplies decentralized water and wastewater treatment systems. It began with domestic water purification systems and progressed to industrial-scale treatment, applying a patented electro-chemical oxidation and coagulation process that uses ionic reactions to remove heavy metals, suspended solids, phosphorus, fats, oil and grease, pathogens and dissolved organics from wastewater.

The systems are delivered as compact plug-and-play units that the company says occupy about 90% less space than conventional installations and recover up to 99% of treated water, while generating roughly 70% less sludge, requiring about 90% less human intervention and cutting life-cycle costs by about 35%. Current applications span industrial effluent from textiles, steel manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, as well as sewage from hotels and commercial properties.

Founding story

Co-founders Amrit Om Nayak and Krunal Patel, former batchmates, started the company in response to India's water stress, with reporting citing a 2018 NITI Aayog study that found nearly 600 million Indians under extreme water stress and around 200,000 annual deaths linked to a lack of clean water. They ran a six-month pilot on the Somaiya campus treating about 25,000 litres of wastewater a day, roughly one-seventh the footprint of the conventional sewage system there, then upgraded the design into a commercial product. Founding dates in the sources differ: 2017 in press and startup-profile coverage, 2018 in one company database.

Business model

The company sells and deploys proprietary modular water treatment systems to industrial and commercial end users, positioning them as lower-footprint, lower-life-cycle-cost alternatives to conventional effluent and sewage treatment plants.

Traction

The company reports having treated more than a billion litres of water and up to 75% net carbon savings from its treatment assets. One database lists revenue of about ₹12.2 crore in FY25, up roughly 20% year over year, and headcount of about 96. Earlier coverage cites crossing Rs 1 crore in revenue in its early years with expectations of Rs 6-7 crore within six months.

Latest developments

Following the January 2024 Series A, database records through FY25 show revenue growth of about 20% year over year and headcount increasing to roughly 96 employees.