Water everywhere, not a CLEAN drop to drink! Who would have thought that there will be a day when sanitation of available water would be more of a concern than availability of water itself? Hygiene is of great concern to everyone today, and this is evident with the surging rise in the consumption of packaged/bottled water. India has 16 percent of the world's population, 2.5 percent of the land mass and 4 percent of the world's water resources. These limited water resources are depleting rapidly while the demands on them are increasing. Drinking water supplies in many parts of India are intermittent. Transmission and distribution networks for water are generally old and badly maintained, and as a result, are deteriorating. India is one of the biggest and most attractive water markets in the world. The boom time for Indian bottled water industry is to continue- more so because the economics are sound, the bottom line is fat and the Indian government hardly cares for what happens to the nation's water resources. Corporate control over water and water distribution in India is growing rapidly: the packaged water business is worth $250 million, and it's growing at a huge 40-50% annually. Around 1,200 bottling plants and 100 brands of packaged water across the country are battling over the market, overdrawing groundwater, and robbing local communities of their water resources and livelihoods. Most multinational (MNC) companies view India as the next big market with a lot of potential and growth possibility. Several MNCs are waiting in the wings to expand a $ 287 billion global water market into India. There is a huge market being exploited by the packaged water industry, and it's growing at 40% per annum. With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big by even international standards. There are more than 200 brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell non-branded products and serve small markets. In fact, making bottled water is today a cottage industry in the country. There is investment worthy mid-cap companies in this segment. From being confined to the uppermost echelons of society, packaged water has now become a commonplace commodity and almost a necessity in metros. After witnessing historic growth in recent years, it has become a Rs 3,000-crore industry, one that is slated to only post healthy growth rates to become a Rs 10,000-crore business in just three years, The bulk water industry, or water in 12-, 20- and 25-litre packages, has also witnessed a parallel growth of Rs 700-1,000 crore. Basically, the market can be divided into two segments  the retail consumer market where the pack sizes are 500 ml, one litre, 1.2/1.5/2-litre and five-litre, and the household and institutional market, where the pack size is usually are 20- or 25-litre. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the governing authority on all quality and production regulations related to natural mineral water as well as packaged drinking water. The all-India market for packaged water is between $145 million (Rs. 8 billion) and $21 million (Rs. 10 billion) and is growing at the rate of nearly 40 per cent per annum. Even though it accounts for only 5 percent of the total beverage market in India, branded bottled water is the fastest growing industry in the beverage sector. While the single largest share in the mineral water market might still belong to an Indian brand -- Parle's $52 million (Rs. 2.5 billion) Bisleri brand has a 40 percent share -- multinational corporations are not far behind. Nestle and Danone are vying to purchase Bisleri, and Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Kinley brands have been extremely successful in edging out many of the small and medium players to buy-outs and exclusive licensing deals. In less than two years since its launch, Aquafina has cornered 11 percent of the market and Kinley has almost a third of the market. News reports indicate that other MNCs like Unilever are also eying the market. DEMAND OF WATER WOULD NEVER GO DOWN & WATER WOULD NEVER BE OUT OF BUSINESS