19NOVEMBER 2025Usha Subramaniam, Country President of Grundfos India, in an exclusive interaction with Thiruamuthan, Assistant Editor at Industry Outlook, discusses the pivotal role of energy-efficient pump technologies in India's water-energy nexus. She highlights how these solutions reduce energy consumption, manage water resources, support industries, and enable sustainable growth aligned with the country's net-zero and development ambitions.Usha is a seasoned business leader with over two decades of global experience across Europe, the US, and Asia. She is skilled in business management, profit-center leadership, and people development and has consistently driven organizational success while championing diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. INDUSTRY INSIGHTSWHY ENERGY-EFFICIENT PUMPS ARE THE FUTURE OF WATER SOLUTIONS As India accelerates efforts to make its water infrastructure more energy-efficient, how are advanced pump technologies transforming usage across agriculture and utilities today? IbelievethisisoneofthemostimportanttopicswhenweconsiderIndia'sdevelopmentanditsambitionstobecomeahigh-GDP,developednation.Twovitalenablersofthisgrowtharewaterandenergy,andrightatthecenterofbothistheroleofpumps.ForIndiatothrive,ourindustriessuchasmanufacturing,infrastructure,andservicesmustperformpowerfully.Thisspansindustries,commercialinfrastructuresuchasrailwaysandairports,andessentialserviceslikehospitals,malls,andwaterutilities.Achievingefficiencyacrossthespectrumrequiresajointmanagementofwaterandenergy,together.Inmanyindustries,waterplaysacriticalrole,whetherintraditionaloradvancedoperations.Sectorsliketextiles,semiconductors,pharmaceuticals,andfoodandbeveragearehighlywater-intensive.Keyapplicationsincludeheating,cooling,andtreatment.Forexample,thepharmaceuticalsectorrequirescoolingwithcleanwateratcontrolledtemperaturelevels,whileinthefoodandbeveragesector,watertreatmentisindispensable.Here,technologybecomescrucial.Advancedpumpsanddigitalsolutionshelpoptimizeprocessesandsignificantlyreduceenergyconsumption.Pumpsalonecanlowerindustrialenergyusageby20to70percent,whichisaconsiderablereductioninoperatingcosts.Thisisachievedthroughinnovations like permanent magnet motors, optimizedhydraulics,anddigitalmonitoringsystemsthatprovidepredictiveinsights.AtGrundfos,wedescribethisasenabling"watertospeak"--usingdatatointerpretwater'sbehaviorandoptimizeitsuse.With increasing stress on both energy consumption and groundwater levels in key water-use sectors, how are energy-efficient pumps helping address these dual challenges? IthinkthisisatthecenterofIndia'swaterandenergynexus,asthecountryhastraditionallydependedheavilyongroundwa-ter.Indiaextractsabout230cubickilometersannually,morethan25percentofglobalextraction--averyhighnumber.Overtime,thisdepletionhaswreakedhavoc,severelyaffectingag-riculture,irrigation,andthedrinkingwatersupply.Allstudiesforecastthatdemandwillcontinuetoescalate,makingitcriti-caltocurbexcessiveextractionanduse.Usha Subramaniam, Country PresidentUsha Subramaniam, Country President, Grundfos India
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