In November 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing the New Indian Express, that NIOT, India's National Institute of Ocean Technology, had filed a detailed report on an offshore desalination plant. The 10,000 m³/day facility was planned some 40 km off Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Warm surface water was to evaporate at low pressure, with cold deep water condensing the vapour. Costs including a platform were put at INR 2,000 crore (about USD 300 million). NIOT sought inclusion in the earth sciences ministry's planned deep sea mission.
The report showed that India aimed to scale up thermal desalination based on ocean temperature differences, at a high cost per cubic metre of capacity.