We envision Ikos GAIA to be a major player in the water sector in next 3 years.

 V. S. Pillai,
CEO,
Ikos GAIA

Ikos GAIA constitutes specialisation in EPC contracts, manufacturing and operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment plants. In an interaction with B2B Purchase, Mr Pillai discusses about the opportunities and challenges across wastewater management sector in India.

Water waste management is a rising concern in India. How does Ikos GAIA Infra address this national issue?
The rate of pollution is rapidly rising across India. Fresh water resources are trickling away, as the illegal dumping of untreated wastewater into fresh water bodies continue unabated. There is a need for strict action from the government to address various concerns relating to wastewater management.

Ikos GAIA, as a private entity, contributes towards creating awareness and offering innovative solutions for wastewater management. For instance, our Ozonator system directly treats wastewater and reduces contaminants to zero. In the process, Ozone is released into the atmosphere creating a healthier environment for us to live in. We are recommending this system and solution to our clients so that we all can contribute effectively to environment conservation.

What are the specialised solutions you provide? What make them special in Indian market?
Our advanced Ozonator system is a unique solution we offer as our prime product in the market today. We differ in the process, whereby all systems are only used as disinfectant in place of chlorine disinfection. We offer our complete Ozonator system as primary treatment product for industrial effluent. This is where solutions offered by Ikos GAIA differ from the general applications. We have tested and proven the effectiveness of our solutions by reducing the industrial effluent COD of 1,67,000 ppm to less than 1,000 ppm.

How does association with Lhotellier Ikos impact GAIA?
Lhotellier Ikos France is our professional and financial support. Through them we will receive technology transfer in various sectors that we are venturing into.

Where do you wish to place Ikos GAIA in the next 5 years?
We envision Ikos GAIA to be a major player in the water sector in next 3 years. We are confident that by 2020, the company will have a turnover of more than Rs 1,000 crore and would be a leading brand in the wastewater management sector.

What are the major challenges in wastewater management sector in India?
Major challenges in the wastewater management sector are that of ‘consistency’. This has two aspects to it.

First is the consistency of system performance, that is, the solution provided must have a consistent output of treated water adhering to the PCB (Pollution Control Board) norms. This rarely happens and with the passage of time, the systems further falters in meeting the PCB norms in the absence of proper operations and maintenance.

Second, the companies are not consistent with their commitment to their clients. They falter on making timely payment to vendors, delay progress of the work and neglect the welfare of employees. This tendency is rampant in the sector today. These companies eventually fail to deliver to their customers, and are often blacklisted. This impacts the overall wastewater management sector as well.