Arsenic in groundwater poses a major health risk across large parts of India. It is linked to cancers, neurological and cardiovascular disease and to impaired cognitive development in children. Contamination is widespread in alluvial plains — notably the Bengal basin — and in some hard-rock regions; West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Punjab all report affected areas, and districts such as Patna, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Munger and Buxar have high incidence.
The solution began as a high school project by brothers Arpit Kumar and Abhijeet Kumar. After an A+ at the National Children’s Science Congress they continued reading research papers and testing designs. Early descriptions of their approach used neodymium magnets attached to a steel conical structure through which water passed. By 2019 the method had been refined into the Molecular Magnetic Technology for Arsenic Removal (METAL), a chemical-free, low-cost way to purify water.
METAL is the basis for MARU, the Magnetic Arsenic Removal Unit. Its active separation core contains magnets made from metallic alloys of rare earth elements housed in a stainless-steel body. The founders say the system is easy to maintain and has lower operational costs than other projects. Shambhavi Sinha joined in 2022 as technology and analytics lead, and Navmarg Research & Innovation Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2023 after five years of R&D. The team reports they have purified over 300,000 litres, helped more than 4,000 lives and installed a 5,000 litres-per-hour municipal unit in Bhojpur district, Bihar.
Future work includes sensors for rapid detection of arsenic and bacteria such as E. Coli, which give real-time estimates based on electrical properties, and the use of AI for anomaly detection and predictive maintenance; patenting procedures for the sensors are pending. The project has won national recognition, including from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and the company is registered on the Government e-Marketplace. The founders plan to enter the commercial market in three to four months.
Difficult words
- arsenic — toxic chemical element harmful in drinking water
- contamination — presence of harmful substances in a place
- alluvial — related to soil or sediments by rivers
- neurological — connected with the nervous system and brain
- purify — remove dirty or harmful substances from somethingpurified
- sensor — device that detects and measures physical changesensors
- patent — legal protection for a new invention or ideapatenting
- municipal — relating to a city or local government
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Discussion questions
- What advantages and possible limitations do you see in a chemical-free magnetic system for removing arsenic from water?
- How could sensors and AI for anomaly detection change the maintenance and safety of water units in rural districts?
- What challenges might the founders face when they enter the commercial market in three to four months?
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