The stories of women who couldn’t find a safe and clean rest stop while travelling by bus along Indian highways has opened up a big business opportunity and have sparked a series of new startups offering ‘smart toilets’.

Seeing the provision of clean toilets as a business opportunity was spurred by a 2021 survey that found that one fifth (19%) of 302 million Indian households don’t have access to a home toilet, even though the ‘sanitation business’ is considered demeaning by many.

The trend is bringing a whole range of new services and facilities to rest stops along Indian highways, including cafes, stores, Wi-fi, charging stations for electric vehicles, feeding/nappy changing rooms, showers, and lounges and sleeping pods. Many are app-based and employ contactless systems for access, and almost all provide disabled-friendly and gender-neutral toilets.