Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS), CRDF, CEPT University

What Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS), CRDF, CEPT University does

CWAS (Center for Water and Sanitation) is a non-profit academic research center established in 2008–2009 under the CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), the research arm of CEPT University in Ahmedabad, India. It focuses on improving urban water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services through action-research, capacity building, and direct advisory support to city and state governments. Primary beneficiaries are Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Corporations and Councils) along with state governments (notably Maharashtra and Gujarat) and national agencies such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The center's core product is the Performance Assessment System (PAS), a web-based platform operational since 2010 that enables 1000+ cities to self-assess and benchmark water supply, wastewater, solid waste, and stormwater drainage services annually. It is complemented by an SLB-PAS module with inbuilt data validation, plus a portfolio of specialized tools: SaniPlan and an IFSM Toolkit for citywide sanitation planning, SaniChatbot (WhatsApp-based FSTP reporting), MahaSaniTrack (septic tank desludging tracking), SANITab (household sanitation surveys), the SFD visualization tool, and Target/Tariff Setting Models for ULBs. These are supported by 412+ knowledge products and interactive dashboards hosted on pas.org.in.

CWAS operates a grant-funded, non-commercial model with no direct pricing for its tools. Revenue streams comprise research grants and development funding (including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Viega Foundation), corporate CSR (HSBC), and institutional support routed through CEPT University via CRDF. The go-to-market is sales-led and government-engagement-driven: partnerships with state governments, MoHUA empanelment as a Swachhata Knowledge Partner, and training programs delivered with AIILSG, NIUA, IHE Delft, and AIT Bangkok. Distribution combines a self-serve online portal with hands-on technical assistance and convening platforms such as the Global South Academic Conclave (GSAC) and the WASH Economics Conference.

Name

Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS), CRDF, CEPT University

Legal name

Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS)

Website

https://cwas.org.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CWAS is a non-profit academic research center at CEPT University that builds digital assessment, planning, and monitoring tools used by Indian Urban Local Bodies, state governments, and MoHUA to benchmark and improve urban water and sanitation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Sanitation Research and Advisory Services

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEUAHABAB

Water & Wastewater Compliance (NPDES/Stormwater, Pretreatment, Drinking Water/SDWA)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Regulatory Compliance & Auditing (Air, Water, Waste)

SECONDARYBPAHAJAJ

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Consulting

SECONDARYBPAIACAG

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYEUANAJAA

Regulatory Compliance Monitoring & Reporting (SDWA/CWA/NPDES, permits, audits)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Water & Wastewater Utilities/Water Quality Testing, Compliance & Reporting

SECONDARYEUANAEAG

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control & Compliance (Storage, Separation, Treatment)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Water & Wastewater Utilities/Stormwater & Floodwater Management (Drainage, CSO, Flood Control)

Keywords

• Water and sanitation services
• Urban WASH research
• Performance assessment systems
• Faecal sludge management
• Municipal capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Ahmedabad

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Development Funding: CWAS operates as a research center under CRDF, receiving funding from development partners and foundations for specific projects and initiatives
2. Foundation Support: Supported by foundations such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Viega Foundation for specific programs like GSAC conferences and climate resilience projects
3. Corporate CSR Grants: Receiving CSR funding from corporations like HSBC for climate resilience projects
4. Institutional Funding from CEPT University: Core operational support through CEPT University's research and development framework via CRDF

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) is a non-profit academic research center that develops performance assessment systems, planning tools, and monitoring applications for urban water and sanitation services. It works with city, state, and national governments across India to improve WASH service delivery through action-research, advocacy, capacity building, and direct technical assistance. The center maintains one of the largest databases on urban water and sanitation in India covering 1000+ cities and provides technical advisory services for sanitation programs such as Swachh Bharat Mission.

Product overview

CWAS operates as a research and capacity-building center within CEPT University and CRDF, offering a portfolio of interconnected tools and platforms for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) service assessment and improvement. The core offering includes the Performance Assessment System (PAS) and SLB-PAS module for data collection and monitoring, complemented by specialized planning tools (SaniPlan, Faecal Sludge Management Assessment Toolkit, SFD tool) and monitoring tools (SANITab, MahaSaniTrack, SaniChatbot) for field-level sanitation operations. The Interactive Dashboards provide visualization and analytics capabilities. All these products work together to support city and state governments in assessing, planning, and improving urban WASH services across India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Performance Assessment System (PAS): A well-functioning performance measurement and monitoring system for urban water and sanitation created by CWAS
• PAS-SLB

Products and services

• Performance Assessment System (PAS) A comprehensive web-based performance measurement and monitoring system for urban water and sanitation services in India, enabling cities to self-assess and track their performance levels annually. Used by 1000+ cities across India.
• SLB-PAS Module Web-based system for systematic collection and analysis of water supply, wastewater, solid waste management and stormwater drainage data, with inbuilt data validation checks. Operationalised since 2010.
• SaniPlan A performance improvement planning tool facilitating preparation of citywide sanitation plans, enabling better assessment of sanitation situations and planning improvements for urban sanitation solutions.
• SANITab An Android-based application for sanitation surveys at the household level, successfully used for sanitation data collection and baseline assessment, with customization capabilities for various surveys.
• MahaSaniTrack A mobile application for tracking septic tank desludging operations, assisting Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to monitor safe disposal of faecal sludge.
• SaniChatbot A WhatsApp-based chatbot developed for cities to report Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) data on a daily basis, enabling easy monitoring via text-based interactions.
• Interactive Dashboards Visual data analysis tools providing state-level aggregates and city-specific performance snapshots across water, sanitation, wastewater, and solid waste management sectors.
• SANI Tab SaniTrack Digital Monitoring System Digital monitoring systems for Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM), used in cities such as Wai and Sinnar for scheduled desludging of septic tanks.
• Technical Assistance and Advisory Services Hands-on advisory and implementation support services to state governments and Urban Local Bodies for water and sanitation program delivery, including Swachh Bharat Mission implementation.
• Capacity Building Programs Training workshops, divisional and national workshops for government officers, ULBs, and sanitation workers, engaging 11,432+ professionals to build WASH sector capacities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Maharashtra declared ODF on October 1, 2017 - all 384 urban local bodies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CEPT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWAS is a center under CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), established by CEPT University. The center maintains close linkages with Faculty of Planning at CEPT University for academic programs and research activities.
• CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRDF is the managing body for CWAS's research and capacity building activities. CWAS is one of nine domain-focused centers in CRDF.
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWAS is empanelled by MoHUA as Swachhata Knowledge Partner (SKP) - an initiative supporting SBM-U implementation in Gujarat and other states.
• All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in organizing training workshops and capacity building programs for urban local governments, particularly in Maharashtra.
• National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in organizing national workshops on Service Level Benchmarking for urban sanitation services with focus on FSSM.
• Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) BangkokmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for FSM toolkit testing workshop and Training of Trainers programs on faecal sludge and septage management.
• IHE Delft, NetherlandsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Sanitation Finance Course, contributing to international capacity building in WASH sector.
• Government of MaharashtracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner for Swachh Maharashtra Mission implementation. CWAS provides technical, advisory, monitoring and implementation assistance to SMMUA and ULBs of Maharashtra.
• Urban Management Center (UMC)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPAS Partner engaged for activities including citizens feedback assessment on municipal water and sanitation services.
• Piramal FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWAS is knowledge partner for safely managed water solutions addressing underserved populations in slums of Nagpur.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Centre for Science and Environment (CSE): Indian environmental research and advocacy organization covering water, waste and urban environmental issues. Emerging player: partial overlap with CWAS on water governance, environmental compliance and city-level assessments.
• BORDA (Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association): International NGO specializing in decentralized wastewater and faecal sludge management. Emerging player: focuses on FSM and DEWATS — a narrower but technically adjacent niche to CWAS's SaniPlan, IFSM Toolkit and SFD work.

Direct peers

• Piramal Foundation: Indian philanthropic foundation running water and sanitation programs in underserved urban areas. Direct peer: CWAS is a knowledge partner for Piramal's safely-managed water work in Nagpur slums, serving overlapping WASH mandates.
• National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA): Autonomous Indian government-affiliated think tank working on urban policy, water and sanitation with MoHUA. Direct peer: jointly runs national SLB workshops with CWAS and competes for the same ULB advisory mandates.
• All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG): Indian capacity-building institute for elected representatives and municipal staff. Direct peer: partners with CWAS on ULB training programs and addresses the same municipal capacity-building segment in Maharashtra.
• WaterAid India: India arm of WaterAid, focused on urban and rural WASH access with state-level engagement. Direct peer: comparable NGO model delivering WASH programs to Indian state governments and ULBs, including in Maharashtra.

Broad incumbents

• World Bank Water Global Practice: Multilateral funder and advisor on water and sanitation in India and globally. Broader incumbent: funds and runs large-scale WASH programs that overlap with CWAS's policy and FSM advisory mandates.
• GIZ India: German development agency running urban WASH and climate-resilient city programs in India. Broader incumbent: competes for Indian state-level WASH mandates with deeper financing capacity than CWAS.
• CEPT University: Parent academic institution of CWAS. Broader incumbent: anchors the wider urban planning, design and research portfolio that houses CWAS as one of nine CRDF centers.
• UNICEF WASH India: UN agency delivering WASH programs at scale in India. Broader incumbent: sets national WASH standards and funds state-level programs that intersect with CWAS's municipal advisory work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cwas-cept

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS), CRDF, CEPT University