"Shit is a serious business"-Namita Banka
Shit. I must say it feels weird to talk about it—but I’d rather talk about shit than talk shit, right? The truth is, sanitation has long been one of India’s most pressing challenges. More than an eyesore, it has always been a matter of health, dignity, and survival. Open defecation exposed millions to deadly diseases, polluted water sources, and stripped women and children of basic safety. Namita Banka is one of those people who chose to act instead of looking away.
To appreciate Namita’s contribution, we need a quick look at India’s long and uneven history of toilets. It began with highly sophisticated sanitation in the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 2500 BCE), where people had private toilets and covered drainage systems. Over time, this advanced engineering declined, and open defecation became widespread. In the colonial period, the British introduced a Western public health model, bringing basic sanitation laws and communal toilets in the 19th century. After Independence, several government initiatives followed—from the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) in 1986, which focused on subsidised toilet construction, to the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in 1999, which aimed to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2017. Yet progress was slow. For years, toilets were built but often went unused—and even today, without proper maintenance, much of the infrastructure continues to fall into disrepair. It became clear that India needed more than just toilet construction—it needed waste management solutions and cultural change. Against this backdrop, Namita Banka’s BioLoo emerged as a much-needed innovation: a sustainable, tech-driven, user-friendly solution that restored both hygiene and dignity.
Namita’s journey began far from sanitation. She started out as a diamond jewellery designer in Surat, running her business successfully for over a decade. After relocating to Hyderabad in 2008, she pivoted to social entrepreneurship, driven by the urgency of India’s sanitation crisis. In 2012, she founded Banka BioLoo Limited (now known as Banka Bio)—India’s first publicly listed sanitation firm. Using biodigester technology developed by DRDO, BioLoo converts human waste into biogas and reusable water, offering an eco-friendly, low-maintenance solution. Since then, the company has installed over 30,000 bio-toilets across India, provided sanitation to more than 1,500 government schools, and served clients ranging from Indian Railways to NTPC and builders. Thanks to BioLoo, the days of conventional train toilets dumping waste directly on the tracks are behind us—a change every regular train commuter can recognise.
What began as pilot projects soon grew into full-fledged sanitation programs. Beyond bio-toilets, Banka Bio has deployed sewage and faecal sludge treatment plants, recycling over 3 billion litres of water—and it’s only the beginning. The company has also created hundreds of jobs for sanitation workers and rural women, while working on AI-driven urban water management systems for leak detection, demand forecasting, and quality monitoring—an ambitious step toward smarter, cleaner cities.
By 2019, India had become 99% open defecation-free. This milestone was the result of many collective efforts. At the village level, ASHA workers, masons, local panchayats, NGOs, and community leaders worked tirelessly to shift attitudes about sanitation. Campaigns like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan built momentum by combining toilet construction with awareness, while frontline health volunteers ensured families saw toilets as a matter of dignity and survival. Many women have also led powerful grassroots initiatives—such as Padma Venkataraman with Gramalaya and Anita Sharma with Grameen Vikas Sansthan—proving that women are not just beneficiaries of sanitation change, but leaders driving it.
Within this larger movement, Namita’s role in accelerating change—especially in hard-to-reach areas—was undeniable.. To this day, she remains the only woman to have successfully built a sanitation enterprise in India. Her work has earned recognition, including the Udyami Award presented by Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu in 2018 and the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award in 2013. Today, beyond awards, Namita dedicates herself to mentoring and guiding the next generation of women entrepreneurs, especially in the fields of sanitation and sustainability.
References:
1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/namita-banka/?originalSubdomain=in
2. https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/jury/namita-banka
3. https://unreasonablegroup.com/people/namita-banka
4. https://www.bankabio.com/blog-post/namita-banka-cartier-womens-initiative
5. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMKzGmChf9A/
6. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNVRQObMNKK/
7. https://www.indianeagle.com/travelbeats/history-of-toilets/
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