India’s persistent air and water pollution problems will create a steady demand for environmental technologies and solutions in coming years. According to ITA reports, the Indian environmental technologies market is valued at approximately $23 billion, including goods and services, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2023 to 2028. The United States exported $692 million in environmental technology goods to India in 2024, with water and wastewater treatment being the largest environmental technology sector for U.S. exports to India, followed by air pollution monitoring & control, waste management, and recycling. India’s complex environmental regulations hinge on five major pieces of legislation: the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, amended 2023; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, amended 2023; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, amendment 2022; The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024; and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, amended 2023. 

The E-Waste Management Rules of 2016, amendment 2024, and Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, also play an important role in the environmental technologies space. The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the federal agency responsible for the implementation and oversight of environmental laws in India. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) implements policies framed by the MoEFCC and provides technical services to the Ministry. Enforcement, however, is delegated to the states through State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), or to Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the eight union territories that answer to state government heads rather than the federal authority. 

The CPCB has identified 17 highly polluting industrial categories, including iron and steel plants, non-ferrous metallurgical units, pharmaceutical and petrochemical complexes, fertilizers and pesticide plants, thermal power plants, textile manufacturers, pulp and paper factories, tanneries, and chlor-alkali units. The SPCBs and PCCs manage these industries within their areas of responsibility and administer compliance with the CPCB’s standards for emission or discharge of pollutants. Coal-fired thermal power plants are the single largest contributor to industrial air pollution and are also regulated by the Ministry of Power. For issues relating to municipal wastewater and solid waste management, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and state-level Urban Local Bodies are important stakeholders. 

While there are opportunities for U.S. environmental technologies companies to export to India, challenges remain such as inconsistent application of rules across states, weak regulatory compliance, and occasional issues with corruption. 

Growth trends can be estimated by tracking India’s imports of environmental technology equipment from the U.S. to address environmental challenges:
 

Table: Indian Imports of U.S. Environmental Technology Equipment ($ millions)

Sub-sector Best Prospects    

Promising sub-sectors in environmental technologies include: 

• Water and wastewater management and water quality monitoring                
• Air pollution control and air quality monitoring                    
• Municipal solid waste management and circular economy
• Carbon Management and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS)    

Water and Wastewater Management

Water and wastewater treatment is the largest environmental technology segment for U.S. exports to India. India has the 5th largest water and wastewater treatment market in the world, driven by India’s rapid industrial growth and the government’s adoption of a strategic policy-based approach to increasing effluent discharge compliance and improving water availability in urban centers. Key industries such as food and beverage, microelectronics, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, textile, and metallurgy, and critical mining are driving this growth.

According to GlobeNewswire, expenditure on industrial water and wastewater infrastructure is projected to rise from $2.87 billion in 2024 to $4.65 billion by 2030. To meet this increasing demand, both public and private sector facilities have ambitious plans to develop comprehensive water and wastewater treatment and distribution infrastructure. The coastal states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are front-runners in setting up desalination plants for drinking water supply. Power plants, oil refineries, mines, iron, steel plants, distilleries, cement plants, fertilizer plants, and other industries are pursuing the principle of Reuse, Recycle and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). Some of these industries are setting up desalination plants to meet processed water requirements.  

Air Pollution Control and Air Quality Monitoring

India is the second largest global market for air pollution control, after China, as many Indian cities are among the world’s most polluted, making air pollution control equipment in high demand. According to GlobeNewswire market report, the India Air Pollution Control Systems Market was valued at $10.5 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $18.16 billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 9.40%. In 2019, MOEFF launched the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) to reduce air pollution levels by 20% within five years in more than 100 of the most polluted cities in India. 

According to the NCAP project, Procurement of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Systems (CAAQMS) and Air Quality Early Warning systems are good export opportunities for U.S. companies. Over 50% of India’s installed power generation capacity is fueled by coal-fired power plants. India has stringent emission standards for power plants, with a target of 60-80% reduction in particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury emissions. Government-owned NTPC Limited has been the frontrunner in soliciting bids for Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) systems. India is the largest emitter of sulfur oxides in the world, accounting for 15% of all anthropogenic emissions. According to current guidelines, Thermal Power Plants near populous regions and the capital, New Delhi, must install FGD units that reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide.  The deadline to install pollution control equipment at Thermal Power Plants located within 10 km radius of ‘critical polluted areas’ (non-attainment cities) has been extended from Dec 31, 2025, to Dec 31, 2028, and for those located in other areas from Dec 31, 2026, to Dec 31, 2029. Alternatively, the Thermal Power Plants that choose to retire by Dec 31, 2030, will be exempt from compliance.

Municipal Solid Waste Management

India is the second-largest market for municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the world, after China. According to Mordor Intelligence market report, the India Waste Management Market size is estimated at $13.69 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach $18.40 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period (2025-2030). According to a report by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India generates over 62 million tons (MT) of waste annually. Merely 43 MT of the total waste generated is collected, with 12 MT treated before disposal, leaving the remaining 31 MT discarded in waste yards. CPCB projects that annual waste generation in India will escalate to 165 MT by 2030. Concurrently, hazardous, plastic, e-waste, and bio-medical waste generation are anticipated to increase proportionately.

Carbon Management and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage

India has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 and reach net-zero emission standards by 2070. To achieve this, India is increasing non-fossil energy sources, transitioning to a gas-based economy, incentivizing green hydrogen, and using direct air capture and nature-based solutions. According to a S&P market report, the country’s carbon market is expected to grow significantly, driven by government efforts to reduce emissions, with a proposed market size of $100-150 billion by 2050. The Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) market is also anticipated to grow, with a target capacity of 750 million metric tons per year by 2050, driven by government commitment, increasing technology availability, and growing demand for clean energy. In November 2022, NITI Aayog released a study report on “Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India.” The government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the increasing availability of CCUS technologies, and the growing demand for clean energy, are all driving the growth of the market. 

Opportunities     

In 2019, the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Ministry) launched its Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - a national initiative to provide piped drinking water to 146 million households in 700,000 villages by 2024. Mission earmarked a budget of $51 billion to be given to the states to increase household water connection coverage from 18.3% in 2019 to 100% by 2024. As of February 25, 2025, the number of households with a tapped water connection had increased to 154.8 million or 79.93%, as per the program’s dashboard. Eleven States/Union Territories, which include, Goa, A&N Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu, Haryana, Telangana, Puducherry, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh have provided tap water connection to all rural households (100%) in the respective State/UT. Various other governmental initiatives, such as the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT),  

National Mission for Clean Ganga, Jal Jeevan Mission, Atal Bhujal Yojana, and Community Drinking Water Schemes, contribute to the growth of the Indian groundwater, water and wastewater treatment markets. These ambitious projects are creating opportunities for cutting-edge technologies including smart water meters, water quality monitoring systems, water management-related IT systems, Hydrological mapping services, Monitoring equipment, Groundwater recharge technology, tertiary treatment technology, water-related Engineering, Procurement, and Construction companies. 

Launched in January 2019, the Government of India’s National Clean Air Program (NCAP) is a comprehensive initiative to mitigate air pollution, aiming to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2025-26, meeting national standards of 60 µg/m3 across 131 cities in 24 states. The growing need to combat air pollution has created a demand for various technologies and services, including air quality monitoring systems, continued emissions monitoring systems, fence line monitoring equipment, ambient air quality monitoring equipment, and source emission measurement technologies. Additionally, air purifiers and filters are in high demand, along with data analysis and visualization software, to help analyze and interpret the vast amounts of data generated by these monitoring systems, enabling informed decision-making and effective pollution mitigation strategies.

The Government of India (GOI) has launched several initiatives to promote waste management and circular economy such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, effective April 2026, which will hold producers accountable for managing packaging waste and promoting recycling. To support this growth, opportunities exist to develop basic infrastructure across the waste management value chain, with key demand areas including waste collection and transportation systems, waste treatment technologies like incineration and gasification, landfill design and engineering services, and sorting technologies to facilitate recycling and proper waste disposal.

India is witnessing a growing demand for CCUS technology, driven by its commitment to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net-zero targets. The country aims to increase its CCUS capacity to support its low-carbon transition, with a focus on industrial sectors like cement, steel, and chemicals. The technologies and services in demand include carbon capture technologies, combustion systems, flue gas treatment systems, CO2 utilization and removal technologies, membrane separation technologies, compression systems, CO2 transportation pipelines and infrastructure, engineering, procurement, and construction of carbon management projects, and environmental impact assessment consultancies

U.S. companies should monitor the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for soft loan and grant-funded project announcements. These projects offer significant front-end consulting opportunities and the possibility to supply equipment during the project implementation phase. 

For more information, please contact U.S. Commercial Service Industry Specialist Ritu Arora.