If the rich drink mineral water, attracting multinationals, the population drinks polluted water and gets sick. There’s little available; the entire rice cultivation drinks it.
India’s elites have elevated mineral water to a new status symbol. In upper-class neighborhoods, tastings of local and European brands led by expert sommeliers are proliferating. The mineral water market in India is already worth $5 billion annually and is expected to grow by 24% by 2026. Prices start at 20 cents, but premium brands, which represent a $400 million market, start at $3 a bottle, and some imported waters, such as the US-made Saratoga Spring, cost $27 a liter. Yet sales are growing rapidly.
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