In June 2021, Times Now, citing India's Ministry of Science and Technology, reported on seawater desalination in the village of Narippaiyur, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. The unit used forward osmosis powered by solar heat and produced 20,000 litres of freshwater a day (20 m³/day), enough for two litres of drinking water per person for 10,000 people. It ran at about 2 bar, compared with roughly 50 bar for seawater reverse osmosis. IIT Madras and Empereal-KGDS Renewable Energy built it with funding from the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
The report showed Indian research programmes testing low-pressure, solar-heated desalination in small coastal villages where the groundwater was saline or brackish.
Source: Times Now