Tata Group boss Rajan Tata launches the purifier
The Indian industrial conglomerate Tata Group has launched a new low-cost water purifier, aimed at lower-income households in rural areas.
The Tata 'Swach' purifier is less than one metre tall, and does not need running water or electricity to work.
The firm is hoping to revolutionise the business of providing clean water, a lack of which affects almost one billion people globally.
Tata says the device is the result of a decade of research and development.
The Tata Group includes India's largest carmaker Tata Motors, and also has interests in steelmaking, IT, and chemicals.
Its Swach water device - named after the Hindu word for clean - will cost under 1,000 rupees ($21.5; £13), according to one Indian report.
It uses ash from rice milling to filter out bacteria, and also uses tiny silver particles to kill harmful germs that can lead to diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid.
The health consequences of poor water quality are enormous for developing countries like India, with millions of people affected.
Trying to provide safe drinking water for them has cost the government billions of rupees, but it continues to be a major hurdle.
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