Delhi Sustainable Startup Eliminates Cement In India’s Construction Industry, Making It Carbon Negative - Bagged TATA & Adani As Clients

Every year, India generates at least 150-500 million tonnes of C&D (Construction and Demolition) waste.

The impact? Polluted air, polluted water with heavy metals, lots of CO2 emissions, overloaded landfills – you name it. 

Add to that the limited recycling opportunities of traditional construction waste, and you have an even murkier picture of India’s construction industry.

“Construction waste in India is a huge problem. India produces approximately 400 million tonnes of cement annually and 200 billion bricks yearly. While necessary for urbanization, this also results in resource depletion and massive carbon emissions. We wanted to create something that addressed this problem by eliminating cement and efficiently repurposing waste,” Megha Rathee, co-founder of Vishwa Hara Chakra, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Founded in 2024, Vishwa Hara Chakra (meaning World’s Green Revolution) is a Delhi-based sustainable startup with a focus on eliminating cement and creating carbon-negative, socially conscious, and technologically advanced construction and infrastructure solutions.

THE BACKGROUND

Hailing from a village in Rajpur Khurd, Megha Rathee has 20 years of experience in education and institution-building. She has worked as a teacher and later as the principal of multiple schools. 

Her years in the education space offered her a deep understanding of systems, discipline, and long-term impact. According to her, these are the very skills that translated into building a climate-focused, sustainable startup that looks to change India’s construction industry for the better.

“Sustainability to me was always passion-led. But I was working in the academic space, and didn’t really know how to create a physical manifestation of the same. I think the universe was listening, and the turning point came during a train journey where I met Prof. Ashwin,” Megha Rathee tells Startup Pedia.

Professor Ashwin Gopinath is a Massachusetts-based academic who is deeply engaged in sustainability and material science. They struck up a conversation and explored mutual interests in exploring waste management, the idea of a circular economy, and ultimately building sustainable urban infrastructure.

Over the next year (2023-2024), Megha and Ashwin took upon themselves to advocate for the green climate initiative and immersed themselves in understanding how cities deal with construction and demolition waste.

“We found out that existing solutions are either minimal or simply fail,” she notes.

Eventually, the duo conducted deep research in India’s construction industry to come up with solutions on how construction waste could be re-engineered into usable, carbon-negative construction materials.

This laid the foundation of Vishwa Hara Chakra, a Delhi-based sustainable startup that aimed to flip the picture of construction waste management and eco-friendliness by eliminating cement in the building process altogether.

Megha Rathee and Ashwin Gopinath were joined by Abhishek Chhazed, an individual with deep technological experience. As a climate-tech entrepreneur, he is fully aligned with the mission to decarbonize construction.

Lt. General (Retd.) J.S. Nain, AVSM, PVSM, VSM, SM, ADC, also came on board as the Advisory Founder. He has 

formerly held position as the Southern Army Commander at Pune, and brings over four decades of service in uniform. 

“Sir has a strong passion to give back to society, and that's why he joined our movement. True to the spirit of a soldier, he continues to take on new challenges and immersive roles. He is our guiding light,” Megha smiles. 

Vishwa Hara Chakra was officially established in August 2024 with a bootstrapped amount of Rs 25 lakh, which was raised via the founding team’s savings. Later, the founding team raised a family funding round.

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THE HARD PROBLEM → THE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION

Vishwa Hara Chakra began with a simple mission: solving the hard problem of cement and clay brick production, which contributes to more than 10% of global CO2 emissions.

“Simply put, traditional construction materials require extensive energy consumption and resources. They are anything but sustainable,” startup founder Megha Rathee says.

To address this, the founding team innovated the Eco-Concrete technology that transforms industrial waste streams into high-performance construction materials.

“We utilize fly-ash, slag, and other waste materials to bind our sustainable bricks. They do not have traditional cement as their contents. The result? A dramatic reduction in the carbon footprint that is typically associated with cement,” she explains.

The sustainable startup’s patented, proprietary binding technology ensures structural integrity of construction materials, making sustainability accessible to India’s construction industry.

“Think of it this way: conventional cement emits roughly 80 grams of CO2 per kg. Our product is eliminating cement itself,” Megha says.

Vishwa Hara Chakra’s Eco-Concrete contains only:

• Industrial by-products repurposed to replace traditional cement

• Specialized chemicals used as binding agents

• Coarse and fine aggregators to provide structural mass and stretch

• Water to activate chemicals for proper binding

Apart from Eco-Concrete, the Delhi-based sustainable startup that is eliminating cement has also innovated advanced insulation materials.

The team’s innovation comes in the form of Zephyr Insulation: a high-performance thermal solution designed for water tanks, water pipelines, and buildings operating in extreme cold conditions, especially in high-altitude and sub-zero regions such as the Himalayas.

Zephyr’s primary purpose is to prevent water from freezing, reduce energy consumption, and protect infrastructure from freeze-thaw damage.

Additionally, the waste-to-energy initiative of the sustainable startup operates in producing Compressed Bio-CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) from agricultural and municipal waste.

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JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

Initially, Vishwa Hara Chakra’s team faced multiple rejections from large companies and industry leaders.

“We would pitch our sustainable construction solutions, but people were hesitant. I think many suspected us as ‘just another startup’ with no execution capability,” startup founder Megha Rathee says.

So…what changed perceptions?

The strength and credibility of the founding team – Megha’s grit, Professor Ashwin’s deep expertise and claims based on factual research, Abhishek’s tech experience, and Lt. General (Retd) J.S. Nain’s substantial mentorship.

“Before we knew it, our first major order was for Rs 1.8 crore. It was a TATA project for the Noida International Airport, currently under construction near the Jewar city of Uttar Pradesh,” entrepreneur Megha smiles.

VISHWA HARA CHAKRA: SUSTAINABILITY THAT TRANSFORMS INDIA’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Today, Vishwa Hara Chakra operates as a Delhi-based sustainable startup working under three main buckets:

• Eco-Concrete

• Waste-to-Energy

• Zephyr Insulation

With various solutions such as sustainable building materials (building blocks, pavers and tiles), advanced insulation materials, and technology that helps flip the picture for municipal and agricultural waste, Vishwa Hara Chakra’s societal and environmental impact is both measurable and substantial.

Under Eco-Concrete, the sustainable startup has dramatically decreased carbon emissions by 80% (as compared to traditional cement products). There is less than 1% waste produced in the manufacturing process, which outperforms industry standards.

“Our product portfolio of Eco-Concrete needs 0°C heat. This means we eliminate energy-intensive heating during our production processes,” startup founder Megha Rathee notes.

As for Zephyr insulation, it delivers a 60-80% reduction in heat loss in water tanks and up to 70% reduction in energy consumption in water pipelines, especially in extreme cold and high-altitude regions.

“Our Zephyr insulation technology prevents freezing of water tanks and pipelines at temperatures as low as –30°C. It also eliminates damage caused by freeze-thaw cycles, such as cracks, bursts, and leaks, which might pose potential damage from microplastics entering the water,” the entrepreneur adds.

Vishwa Hara Chakra’s Zephyr Insulation has proved critical for the Indian Army establishments in high-altitude and sub-zero regions. It reduces dependence on fuel convoys and energy logistics, which are costly and risky.

“We are directly helping the army improve its operational processes and be stress-free about water,”Megha explains.

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GROWTH OF THE SUSTAINABLE STARTUP

To date, Vishwa Hara Chakra has fulfilled construction projects for a prestigious clientele that includes TATA, ITDC, the Adani Group, MES, and the Border Road Organization.

The startup founders have also executed projects in Kargil and Rohtang Pass. Recently, NBCC, the primary construction arm for the Government of India, also came on board with the sustainable startup transforming India’s construction industry.

Since its inception, Vishwa Hara Chakra has generated a revenue of Rs 5 crore.

In the near future, the team is focused on scaling Zephyr Insulation, expanding the product range for building insulation, and focusing on regions with extreme climate zones like Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

“At Vishwa Hara Chakra, the goal is simple: we want to make India’s construction industry a carbon-negative one. Trust me when I say this: this is not an unachievable goal. We have already made it possible by eliminating cement, for example. The climate needs to be protected, now more than ever. We are doing just that, today and always,” entrepreneur Megha Rathee signs off.

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