The Tata Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate holding company

headquartered in Mumbai, India, was founded in 1868 by Jamsetji Tata.

The product, which was launched on December 7, 2009, was the result of Tata
Group’s (Tata) initiatives to address the alarming situation caused by water-borne
diseases in India
Manufactured by India-based Tata Chemicals , Tata Swach, the world’s cheapest
water purifier
received the ‘Economic Times-Best Promising Brands’ award in 2015.
WATER PROBLEM IN INDIA AND TATA’S INITIATIVES

A UN report on water conservation in 2014 suggested that by 2025, nearly 3.4 billion
people around the world would be living in “waterscarce” countries
The report further stated that due to its unique geographical position, India would
face the brunt of the crisis and would be at the center of this conflict.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
The development of Swach could be traced to the 1980s when a professor from IIT
Kanpur, P C Kapoor, used rice husk ash (RHA), to filter bacteria from water. Later
on, he joined TRDDC as a consultant. Kapoor with this team developed filters named
as ‘Sujal’ using RHA cement and pebbles. RHA comprised 80-85% of activated silica
, which facilitated the entrapping of pathogenic bacteria, and 5% activated carbon
that helped in removal of color and odor from the water. Sujal was able to
successfully remove the odor, color, and particulate matter from impure water

TATA SWACH: THE WATER PURIFIER

Tata Swach, the water purifier, delivered safe drinking water at a new market
benchmark of Rs.30 per month for a family of five. It was user-friendly and affordable
and did not require electricity, boiling, or running water to operate. It was priced at
Rs.999 and had a capacity of 18 liters. The replaceable filter, which automatically
stopped water supply after its useful life, was priced at Rs.249 and could be used to
purify 3,000 liters of water.

TATA SWACH: CSR

Tata Swach, apart being a commercial product, was distributed as a part of the Tata
Group’s CSR activity. On January 30, 2011, Tata Chemicals with the US-based
public charity, Hawaii Children's Foundation, distributed one hundred Tata Swach
purifiers in the villages and primary schools of Babrala, Uttar Pradesh, northern India
LOOKING AHEAD
According to “India Water Purifier Market Outlook, 2021”, India’s water purifier
market had grown at a CAGR of 21.24% between 2009 and 2015. The Tata Group
was one of the contributors to the growth in the water purifier market.