Raima Dasgupta

An Indian engineer who developed affordable water purification systems for rural communities

Raima Dasgupta (b.1982) is a materials scientist from West Bengal who created low-cost water filtration technology. Working with the Indian Institute of Technology, she developed the PuriFlow system in 2014, using locally sourced laterite stone to remove heavy metals and pathogens. This innovation provides clean water at 1/10th the cost of traditional systems, benefiting over 2 million people in India's arsenic-contaminated regions.

Dasgupta's team established the Clean Water Initiative in 2016, training rural women as system operators and technicians. Her community-based approach ensures sustainability, with 98% system functionality after 5 years. In 2018, her work earned the UN Water Prize for Sustainable Development.

She pioneered solar-powered versions of the system for remote villages, reducing energy costs by 70%. Her research published in Water Research Journal inspired similar projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Dasgupta's TED Talk 'Clean Water for All' has become a blueprint for decentralized water solutions.