India
Not safe to drink. Highly variable and largely unsafe from the tap. Intermittent supply and contaminated pipes are the core issue — filter or boil.
Can you…
Source → Tap
Aging network · intermittent pressureIs tap water safe in India?
India scores 35/100 on our water-safety index — not safe to drink. Highly variable and largely unsafe from the tap. Intermittent supply and contaminated pipes are the core issue — filter or boil. Scores above 70 mean tap water is generally safe to drink. 40–69 means treat it with caution — filtering or bottled water is wise. Below 40 means it’s best avoided straight from the tap.
Drinking, brushing, ice & cooking
- Drinkable?
- No — don’t drink it unfiltered. Boil, filter, or buy bottled.
- Brush teeth?
- Risky — use bottled or boiled water to brush, especially for children.
- Ice?
- Avoid ice — it’s frequently made from untreated water.
- Cooking?
- Generally okay, since a rolling boil kills most pathogens; rinse raw produce with filtered water when you can.
Water treatment & pipe infrastructure
India relies on variable by municipality, delivered through a aging network — intermittent pressure. That puts the practical contamination risk between source and tap at high. Even where water leaves the plant clean, aging mains and rooftop storage are where quality most often slips.
Tap water safety by city in India
Water quality is rarely uniform. In India, notable variation includes Mumbai at 75/100 and Delhi at 40/100.
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink tap water in India?+
India scores 35/100 on our water-safety index — not safe to drink. No — don’t drink it unfiltered. Boil, filter, or buy bottled.
Is it safe to brush your teeth with tap water in India?+
Risky — use bottled or boiled water to brush, especially for children.
Is ice safe to use in drinks in India?+
Avoid ice — it’s frequently made from untreated water.
Is tap water in India safe for cooking?+
Generally okay, since a rolling boil kills most pathogens; rinse raw produce with filtered water when you can.
Data & sources
Official monitoring (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2024) puts safely-managed drinking water access in India at 76.4%. Access to a safe source isn’t the same as tap-drinkability for visitors — our 35/100 score weights traveler drinkability, informed by this data.
- WHO/UNICEF JMP — 76.4% safely managed (2024)
- World Bank · safely managed drinking water (SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS)
- CDC · food & water safety for travelers
Read the full methodology — how the 0–100 score is built and what it does (and doesn’t) mean.