In India, around three lakh children die of water-borne diseases every year, with diarrhoea alone causing more than 50 per cent of the deaths. Despite the primary sources of water in the country—groundwater and surface water—being highly contaminated, only 32 per cent of the Indian households get water from a treated source. The groundwater in most of the districts of 24 Indian states has high concentrations of metals and heavy metals. Water sources across the country are also contaminated with high levels of pathogenic organisms. Consuming this raw water poses serious health risks in the form of diseases like typhoid, cholera, acute dysenteric diarrhoea, cancer, and bone-related illnesses. It leaves around 37.7 million people suffering every year, and causes a loss of almost 73 million working days annually, which, in turn, brings about a decline in national productivity, resulting in considerable economic burden.
