In August 2018, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that the Indian government had asked desalination firms to describe their technologies for the National Mission on Desalination (NMD). It sought processes for brackish water and seawater serving municipal, farming and industrial users, whether already on the market or expected within five years. India's Department of Science and Technology planned to turn the replies into a compendium for public bodies procuring projects. NITI Aayog backed the mission, drawn up in 2017, and replies were due by 31 August 2018.
The report showed India treating desalination as part of national water security and aiming to give public bodies a shared knowledge base on available processes before tendering.