New Delhi, Jan. 17 -- A toilet is now not just a toilet. Be it in an urban or rural setting, this existential cubicle is fast transforming into a sustainable economic enterprise. Innovative toilet-retail combos that market hygiene products, food & groceries and other services, while also collecting health data, are leading many to comment that the toilet could be the next frontier of organised retail.

Innovation is the name of the game in the sanitation economy. The Toilet Board's accelerator programme, which was set up in 2016, has been acting as a springboard for entrepreneurs who can think out of the box when it comes to commercially viable business ideas related to the toilet. Their scope may include innovative sanitaryware infrastru...