Mahakumbh is the biggest gathering in humankind’s history and is making the buzz around the world for all the reasons. Approximately more than 45 crore devotees are going to participate in this event. Apart from India more than 1.5 million visitors from all around the world come and witness Mahakumbh. It’s an event of faith, belief and values that India shows in the supreme power. Having said that managing events like Mahakumbh requires lots of effort which is why Harvard and a few other institutes are doing a case study on Mahakumbh. In this article, we learn about the business learning from Mahakumbh that everyone should learn.
- 45 Crore devotees will come to Mahakumbh in 40 days.
- Mauni Amavasya – 29 Jan. 2025 witnessed a footfall of 12 crore devotees in a single day.
- 5000 volunteers will serve all the devotees during the mela.
- More than 10000 police personnel and security forces are deployed for the Mahakumbh.
- There are 120 official shops in Mahakumbh Mela with which costliest shop having a rent of 8,29,000 for 40 days.
- For maintaining cleanliness more than 10000 cleaning staff is recruited for mela and 25000 dustbin has been placed.
- 1,45,000 is the total number of toilets and urinals set up for the mela ground.
Business Learnings from MahaKumbh
Planning the event and Building Infra
Up government wanted to make the event the biggest of all time and they planned things accordingly. From land to bridges, from food to security personnel, shelter to transportation each and everything is well planned by them. In the land of 3200 hectares, all the things are set up to cater for this large number of devotees. 1,60,000 shelters, 30 bridges and 11 fully functional hospitals are developed. From transportation highways are developed, 137 new trains are operated by Indian Railways. All these steps indicate how good planning can solve half of the problems.
Read About – Maha Kumbh 2025: How is the Accurate Counting of Crores of Devotees Being Done?
Technology Integration
To make sure all things work smoothly a high focus of the government was on the use of technology and they did it perfectly. More than 2760 CCTV cameras are installed, and hundreds of drones are deployed, an AI-powered crowd management system is developed and a chatbot is developed in Mulilaungae to assist all the people. Partnered with Google Maps so that devotees can have help in navigation. AI-powered crowd management system will detect and help in finding lost people. Remote control boats are deployed to save people from drowning in rivers.
It shows how technology and AI can help businesses to run their operations smoothly and efficiently.
Crisis Management
Since huge people are gathering together the fear of a crisis is always there. Recently a stampede happened in Mahakumbh in which 15 people lost their lives and more than 30 people were injured. A few days ago a massive fire breakout was there. Despite all of these things, all the crises are managed quickly otherwise it can be horrible. Within minutes healthcare professionals were there in minutes they reached the hospital. 10000 police personnel and security forces are deployed there everything is monitored.
It shows that every business should have a crisis management system which can be activated as soon as possible. It will reduce the losses and increase the chances of recovering immediately.
Also Read – Mahakumbh Mela Stampede: 15 Dead in Tragic Incident at Prayagraj
Profitability
In total 7500 crore rupees have been spent on the Mahakumbh mela preparation. This number is huge for a country like India and many people are criticising it. But the fact stats that it’s worth spending this amount as it will be a generation of more than 20000 crore in revenue. Almost 2 Lakh crore of online transactions are predicted to be done during this event. It will give employment to more than 1 million people directly or indirectly.
Another important learning from Mahakumbh is it’s okay to spend a high amount if are expecting an even more higher return from it.
Resource Management
Mahakumbh 2025, expected to attract over 450 million devotees, is a massive logistical challenge requiring efficient resource management and sustainability measures. The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated ₹2,500 crore for infrastructure, sanitation, and environmental sustainability. Over 20,000 sanitation workers will be deployed to manage waste, and biodegradable toilets will be installed to reduce pollution. The event will use solar-powered lighting, aiming to generate 50 MW of clean energy. Water conservation is a priority, with advanced sewage treatment plants (STPs) ensuring the Ganga remains clean.
In 2019, Kumbh produced 1,200 tons of waste daily, leading authorities to strengthen zero-waste initiatives for 2025. Businesses can learn from Mahakumbh’s scale, sustainability, and crowd management, adopting AI-driven logistics, eco-friendly practices, and renewable energy solutions for efficient operations. The event exemplifies how large-scale events can be managed sustainably, balancing religious significance with environmental responsibility.
Also Read – Mauni Amavasya 2025 – Date, Time, Significance and Things to do
Leadership and Teamwork
Any event becomes successful due to leadership and teamwork and Mahakumbh is no different. All the government officials, NGOs, private stakeholders, security personnel, volunteers, healthcare professionals, and other staff working together to make this event amazing. Leaders have given everyone clearly defined goals which they have to follow. Business can learn how right leadership and teamwork can pull the task which seems impossible to do at first sight.
Scalable and Flexible
All the infrastructure developed in the tent city is flexible, temporary and scalable. If the number of devotees increases they authorise can rapidly build the infra in no time to accommodate them. It is such an important lesson for businesses they should focus on scalability and be ready for change whenever is required. Whomsoever identified and adapts to the change quickly will remain the leader of the market.
Data-Driven Desicions
Mahakumbh 2025 has been organised based on the data available which help them in making all the decisions. AI and surveillance technologies provide near-real-time insights to help authorities with their decision-making. All the things have been planned as per the predictions made using the data. Businesses should learn how to leverage data to get the most out of it and make their decision less vulnerable to market dynamics
Marketing
Marketing is one of the key learning for business from Mahakumbh Mela. The government has done a tremendous job of building the brand image of this mela which causes this huge gathering. From ads to PR to delivering messages about security, belief and things at Mahakumbh they never fail to impress us. Due to this heavy and right marketing government has attracted such a huge gathering and will earn thousands of crores.
Conclusion
Mahakumbh is not only an event of belief or spirituality but also a great business lesson for all people. It shows how an event with a huge gathering, lots of challenges, and impossible task can be achieved. From planning to implementation. From leadership to teamwork, marketing to resource management, cost to profitability each and everything can be learned from Mahakumh. This is why top most universities of the world have sent their researcher to do a study on this gathering.