MUMBAI, INDIA — A low-cost water purification device that has been in development for more than three years was introduced December 7 by India’s Tata Group, which says the device is designed for use in rural households that have no electricity or running water, according to international media reports.

The Tata Swach — Hindi for “clean” — also happens to meet US Environmental Protection Agency standards for removing microorganisms as well as off-color and off-taste, an AFP report claimed. AFP, quoting a newspaper report, said the device will be priced less than 1,000 rupees (US$21.75).

It uses ash from rice milling (paddy husk ash) as a matrix, bound with microscopic particles of silver to kill the bacteria that cause 80 percent of waterborne disease, executives said in a December 7 Associated Press report on BusinessWeek.com.

The device has a 9.5-liter (2.5-gallon US) capacity and can filter 3,000 liters (about 793 US gallons) until the cartridge has to be replaced. A cartridge would last about 200 days for an average family of five, R. Mukundan, Tata Chemicals managing director, said in the AFP report.

BusinessWeek.com reported Tata executives, who noted they plan to invest 1 billion rupees (US$21.6 million) in the project over the next five years, said initial production will be 1 million units a year from a Tata Chemicals plant in Haldia, West Bengal, with plans to increase production to 3 million units annually within five years.

The Tata Group said it will distribute the device using distribution networks of Rallis, Tata’s agrochemical subsidiary with more than 30,000 retailers in rural India, and Tata Kisan Sansar, a farm services business run by Tata Chemicals, which reaches 2.5 million farmers.

The Tata Group is a large Indian company involved in many industries that is also known for producing compact cars.

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