Rajiv Shivakumar

Indian innovator creating affordable water purification systems for rural communities

Rajiv Shivakumar is an Indian social entrepreneur whose PureDrop India initiative has revolutionized access to clean water across South Asia. His patented UV-filtration technology, costing just $5 per unit, provides safe drinking water to 3.2 million people in 18 Indian states. The portable devices require no electricity - they charge via solar panels and operate via hand-crank for cloudy days. Shivakumar's 2021 partnership with UNICEF expanded distribution to Nepal and Bangladesh, where his systems now serve 800+ rural schools. His documentary series Water Warriors of India highlights grassroots efforts in water conservation, earning him the 2022 Global Water Leadership Award. In 2023, he introduced blockchain-based water tracking systems to prevent contamination in disaster zones, deployed during Pakistan's floods and Madagascar cyclones. Shivakumar's open-source designs have been replicated in Peru and Kenya through his CrowdWater platform, enabling local manufacturers to produce 90% of components from recycled materials. His TED Talk "Hydrate Humanity" (2024) has become a blueprint for decentralized water solutions, recently influencing WHO's 2025 Global Water Security Guidelines.