Water is an important source for life to exist at all. It is as essential as air. Without water, there would be no life. Every single life on earth relies on water for sustenance. But how can you differentiate the types of water based on their packing ?

If you don’t have an answer this is for you. What comes to your mind when you think of mineral water in India or if I ask for few brands of mineral water in India? You will surely think of following:

But none of them are mineral water as all of them fall into the category of packaged drinking water and there is a difference between the two.

Mineral water brands in Indian market are following:

Difference Between Packaged Drinking Water & Natural Mineral Water:

The Bureau of Indian Standards recognizes two varieties of branded drinking water – natural mineral water and packaged drinking water.

Natural Mineral Water:

Natural mineral water is water from the underground source that is packaged close to the source and meets the quality standards without processing.

Packaged Water:

On the other hand, packaged drinking water is from any source and has to be treated and disinfected, a process that could involve filtration, UV or ozone treatment, reverse osmosis before it is fit for human consumption.

So if you want to check next time whether you are buying packaged drinking water or natural mineral water then kindly refer to BIS code. BIS has published two Indian Standards for Packaged Drinking Water namely IS 13428 for Packaged Natural Mineral Water and IS 14543 for Packaged Drinking Water (Other Than Packaged Natural Mineral Water).

You don’t have to remember full codes instead just first two characters of the code. 13 for mineral water and 14 for drinking water.

Also Read: Punishment For Vendors Who Sell Bottled Water & Cold Drinks Above MRP