India’s water treatment industry is at one of its most critical junctures in history, with water stress affecting 600 million Indians and groundwater depletion threatening both agricultural and urban water security at a pace that makes treatment and recycling not just a business opportunity but a national imperative. The India water and wastewater treatment market is expected to grow from USD 4.40 billion in 2024 to USD 6.81 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.10 percent. Budget 2026-27 committed Rs 23,000 crore for the water sector including Rs 14,000 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission infrastructure connecting 15 crore rural households. VA Tech Wabag and Ion Exchange India are the two largest listed Indian water treatment companies with market capitalisations of Rs 9,100 crore and Rs 6,700 crore respectively. The industry is also shaped by international companies like Veolia, Pureflow, and Thermax with their treatment and industrial water management capabilities. Let us have a look at the top 10 water treatment companies in India for the year 2026.
1. VA Tech Wabag Limited
VA Tech Wabag, listed on Indian stock exchanges and headquartered in Chennai with a market capitalisation of Rs 9,100 crore, is India’s largest pure-play water treatment company offering engineering, procurement, and construction services for municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment plants. The company operates across 30 plus countries and has commissioned water treatment infrastructure processing over 25 million cubic metres of water daily across its portfolio of projects. In FY25, Wabag recorded its highest-ever revenue of approximately Rs 3,700 crore with strong order inflows from municipal water supply and sewage treatment projects funded by India’s Amrit 2.0 urban development programme.
VA Tech Wabag serves municipal water utilities, industrial water users, and desalination project authorities with its engineering and construction services for water and wastewater treatment plants across India and internationally, and is the most comprehensive listed Indian water treatment EPC company with both domestic infrastructure execution capability and international project deployment experience.
2. Ion Exchange (India) Limited
Ion Exchange India, established in the year 1964 and headquartered in Mumbai with a market capitalisation of approximately Rs 6,700 crore, is one of India’s most comprehensive water and environmental technology companies offering ion exchange resins, water treatment chemicals, water treatment systems, and zero liquid discharge solutions for industrial, municipal, and residential water treatment applications. The company manufactures its own ion exchange resins, mixed bed resins, and water treatment chemicals — a vertical integration that most competitors cannot match — and provides complete water treatment solutions from water purification through effluent treatment to zero liquid discharge. Ion Exchange is listed in India’s BSE 500 index and has operations across India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Ion Exchange India serves India’s industrial users, power plants, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and municipal utilities with its vertically integrated water treatment technology and chemicals portfolio, and its combination of proprietary ion exchange resin manufacturing and complete water treatment system engineering gives it a uniquely integrated competitive position in India’s industrial water treatment market.
3. Thermax Limited (Water and Wastewater Division)
Thermax Limited, headquartered in Pune and a diversified energy and environment technology company established in the year 1966, operates one of India’s most comprehensive industrial water treatment divisions spanning water purification systems, effluent treatment plants, zero liquid discharge solutions, and industrial wastewater recycling. Thermax’s water division serves India’s most water-intensive industries including power generation, steel, petrochemicals, and textiles with treatment solutions that reduce water consumption and enable regulatory compliance with stringent industrial effluent discharge norms. The company’s Budget 2026-27-supported clean energy and decarbonisation work creates synergies between its energy and water treatment divisions.
Thermax serves India’s most water-intensive industrial sectors with its comprehensive water treatment and wastewater recycling solutions, and its combination of water treatment expertise with its core energy systems business allows it to offer integrated solutions that address both energy and water challenges simultaneously for India’s industrial clients.
4. Pureflow Technologies (Veolia India)
Veolia India, the Indian operations of French environmental services giant Veolia which is the world’s largest water and waste management company with global revenue of EUR 42.9 billion, provides comprehensive water treatment, wastewater recycling, and industrial water management services to India’s municipalities and large industrial companies. Veolia’s global expertise in water recycling, membrane technology, and industrial water treatment brings world-class technical capabilities to India’s water treatment market. The company operates through Pureflow Technologies and other Indian subsidiaries providing municipal water supply, industrial water treatment, and wastewater management services.
Veolia India serves India’s municipal water utilities and large industrial companies with its global water treatment technology and operational expertise, and its parent company’s position as the world’s largest environmental services company provides access to the most advanced water treatment technologies and project finance resources available in the global water industry.
5. SPML Infra Limited
SPML Infra, headquartered in New Delhi and one of India’s established infrastructure companies with significant water treatment operations, provides EPC services for water supply, sewerage, and wastewater treatment projects for municipal corporations and state governments across India. The company has executed numerous large-scale water infrastructure projects under government programs including Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT and its successor Amrit 2.0, and is cited among India’s significant water treatment infrastructure companies alongside VA Tech Wabag and Ion Exchange.
SPML Infra serves India’s municipal corporations and state water boards with its engineering and construction services for water supply and sewage treatment infrastructure, and its experience executing government-funded municipal water projects across multiple Indian states gives it implementation expertise in the regulatory and procurement framework that dominates India’s public sector water infrastructure market.
6. Evoqua Water Technologies India (Xylem)
Evoqua Water Technologies, acquired by Xylem in 2023 and operating as part of Xylem’s global water technology portfolio, provides advanced water treatment solutions including ultraviolet disinfection, ozone treatment, reverse osmosis, and electro-deionisation systems for industrial and municipal water treatment applications. Xylem’s combined portfolio following the Evoqua acquisition includes measurement, treatment, and control technologies covering virtually every aspect of the water cycle, making it one of the most comprehensive water technology companies operating in India’s advanced treatment market segment.
Xylem Evoqua India serves industrial manufacturers and municipal water utilities requiring advanced treatment technologies beyond conventional biological and chemical treatment processes, and its comprehensive technology portfolio spanning UV disinfection, ozone, and advanced membrane systems addresses India’s growing market for high-quality industrial water treatment.
7. Praj Industries Limited
Praj Industries, established in the year 1983 and headquartered in Pune as a globally respected engineering and technology company, has a significant water recycling and zero liquid discharge technology division alongside its core bioenergy and brewery engineering businesses. The company provides wastewater treatment and recycling systems for breweries, distilleries, and food and beverage companies as part of its integrated bioprocessing and environmental engineering capabilities. Praj’s technology platforms for integrated water management and recycling in bioprocessing applications are internationally recognised and deployed across multiple countries.
Praj Industries serves the food and beverage, brewery, distillery, and bioprocessing industries with its wastewater treatment and water recycling systems, and its integration of water treatment with its core bioprocessing engineering creates unique value for bioprocessing industry clients who need both process engineering and environmental compliance solutions from a single provider.
8. Suez India (Degrémont)
Suez India, the Indian operations of French water and waste management company Suez and operating its water treatment engineering division Degrémont in India, provides municipal water treatment, desalination, and wastewater treatment engineering services. Suez’s Degrémont division has executed multiple major municipal water treatment projects in India including some of the country’s largest sewage treatment plants, bringing French engineering expertise and advanced treatment processes to India’s ambitious urban water infrastructure expansion program.
Suez Degrémont India serves India’s municipal water utilities with its engineering expertise in large-scale water treatment and sewage treatment plant construction, and its French engineering heritage and global water treatment project portfolio give it technical credibility for the most complex municipal water treatment projects that require proven international engineering standards.
9. Voltas Limited (Water Purification Division)
Voltas Limited, the Tata Group company and India’s largest air conditioning brand, also operates a significant water purification business providing residential and commercial water purifiers under the Voltas Beko brand alongside its commercial water treatment systems for offices and institutional buildings. The company’s entry into residential water purification adds a consumer-facing dimension to India’s water treatment market that complements the industrial and municipal segments served by specialist companies like Wabag and Ion Exchange.
Voltas serves Indian households and commercial establishments with its water purification products, and its Tata Group brand trust and extensive distribution network through its air conditioning sales channels give it consumer access advantages that specialist water treatment companies without consumer electronics distribution cannot match.
10. EcoFirst (Clean Water Technologies India)
EcoFirst and comparable small and mid-size clean water technology companies represent India’s growing ecosystem of water technology solution providers addressing specific industrial and municipal water treatment needs through innovative membrane, filtration, and biological treatment technologies. This segment is cited in India’s water treatment market analysis for its role in providing customised water treatment solutions to sectors including pharmaceuticals, textiles, and food processing where standard treatment approaches are insufficient for meeting discharge standards and water quality requirements. India’s tightening industrial effluent standards are driving significant growth in this segment of specialised water treatment technology providers.
EcoFirst and similar specialised water technology companies serve India’s industrial sector with customised water treatment solutions for pharmaceutical, textile, and food processing manufacturers facing increasingly strict regulatory requirements for water quality and effluent discharge, representing the growing market for specialised treatment solutions where general-purpose treatment approaches are no longer adequate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Which is the largest water treatment company in India in 2026?
A: VA Tech Wabag is India’s largest pure-play listed water treatment company with a market capitalisation of Rs 9,100 crore and FY25 revenue of approximately Rs 3,700 crore, operating across 30 plus countries with commissioned water treatment infrastructure processing over 25 million cubic metres daily. Ion Exchange India is the second largest listed water treatment company with a market cap of approximately Rs 6,700 crore and unique vertical integration in ion exchange resin manufacturing alongside complete water treatment system engineering.
Q2. What is the size of India’s water treatment market?
A: The India water and wastewater treatment market is expected to grow from USD 4.40 billion in 2024 to USD 6.81 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.10 percent. Industrial water treatment accounts for 43.73 percent of the market, while municipal water treatment represents the second largest segment. Key growth drivers include water stress affecting 600 million Indians, groundwater depletion, Budget 2026-27’s Rs 23,000 crore water sector commitment including Rs 14,000 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission, and tightening industrial effluent discharge standards.
Q3. What is the Jal Jeevan Mission?
A: Jal Jeevan Mission is India’s flagship program to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to every rural household in India by 2024, with the deadline extended to 2026. Budget 2026-27 allocated Rs 14,000 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission infrastructure connecting 15 crore rural households to piped water supply. The mission requires extensive water source development, treatment plant construction, and pipeline distribution infrastructure, creating massive demand for water treatment and distribution engineering companies.
Q4. What is zero liquid discharge and why is it important?
A: Zero Liquid Discharge or ZLD is an industrial water treatment approach that processes all wastewater to recover water for reuse and concentrate pollutants into a solid waste stream, eliminating any liquid discharge from the industrial facility. ZLD has become mandatory for many industrial sectors in India including textiles, pharmaceuticals, and chemical manufacturing in water-stressed regions. The growing ZLD compliance requirement is one of India’s most significant drivers of industrial water treatment investment, benefiting companies like Ion Exchange, Thermax, and VA Tech Wabag that provide complete ZLD system engineering.
Q5. How is desalination being developed in India?
A: India is developing desalination capacity primarily in water-stressed coastal states including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. Tamil Nadu has the most advanced desalination infrastructure with multiple operational plants near Chennai. The government has announced plans for expansion of desalination capacity as a long-term solution for coastal water security. VA Tech Wabag and Suez Degrémont are the primary engineering companies bidding for India’s municipal desalination projects, bringing reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash desalination technology from their international project portfolios.
