Water & wastewater treatment in India: key statistics
The numbers behind India's water treatment challenge — sewage and effluent treatment capacity, CETPs, ETPs and the chemicals market — collected from government and industry sources in one place. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Only 31,841 MLD (43.9%) of STP capacity is installed, and about 20,235 MLD (28%) is actually treated.
Source: CPCB national inventory of sewage treatment plants, as reported by Down To Earth, 22 Sep 2021
Design capacity 1,917 MLD, but operational capacity only 1,137 MLD (59%).
Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Rajya Sabha reply, PIB release of 18 Dec 2023
1,935 industries were found operating without an effluent treatment plant.
Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Rajya Sabha reply, PIB release of 18 Dec 2023
Forecast to reach USD 3.27 billion by 2034, a CAGR of 4.92%.
Source: IMARC Group, India Water Treatment Chemicals Market report
Forecast USD 549.8 million by 2033 (9.1% CAGR); anionic grades were 47.4% of 2025 revenue.
Source: Grand View Research, India Polyacrylamide Market Outlook
Another 2,546 MLD is under construction, and 4,814 MLD is proposed under AMRUT 2.0.
Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Rajya Sabha reply, PIB release of 18 Dec 2023
About 40% of global capacity additions, the most of any country.
Source: GlobalData, 15 Apr 2024
More treated drinking water means more coagulant and disinfectant demand at water treatment plants.
Source: News On AIR, 4 Dec 2025
India treats only about a quarter of the sewage it generates
Source: CPCB national inventory of sewage treatment plants, as reported by Down To Earth, 22 Sep 2021. MLD = million litres per day.
What this means for plant operators
Large treatment gaps mean new STPs, CETPs and ETPs keep coming online, and existing plants run hard. Coagulants such as PAC and alum, polyelectrolytes for clarification and sludge dewatering, and chlorine products for disinfection are the core chemicals for these plants. To estimate how much your plant needs, use our free dosing and cost calculators, or see our water treatment chemicals.
How to cite
Please cite the original source shown under each figure, and link to this page as “Suraj Chemicals, Water & wastewater treatment in India: key statistics (2026)”. Figures are the latest available from each source at the time of writing; dates are shown with every figure.