Anushka Shahdadpuri grew up in a refugee colony in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, where inadequate government infrastructure left residents without reliable access to essential services. Inspired by these challenges, she set out to improve access to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services for communities like her own. Her project, Tanki, is a pioneering rainwater-harvesting and distribution system that supplies over one million liters of water annually to public toilets in Mumbai. With the potential to scale across the city, Tanki could transform access to clean running water for millions of people.

This innovation is especially critical for girls and women in India, for whom safe and reliable sanitation is a matter of dignity and opportunity. By decentralizing water systems, Tanki also helps prevent residents from being unfairly charged for poorly maintained services—creating a model for equity, resilience, and justice in urban infrastructure.