Modi's water deficit spurs European firms to seek opportunities for growth

Europe's top water management companies are seeking to expand in India as farmers, industry and urban residents compete for increasingly scant supplies.

Veolia Environnement SA, Europe's biggest water company, aims to sell more treatment plants to Indian energy and mining businesses. The next largest, Suez Environnement Co, is considering purchases of local operators as part of a push for 10-fold growth in the Asian country over five years.

"Markets like India will become more important for companies like us," Veolia Water India's Chief Executive Officer Patrick Rousseau said in an interview in New Delhi. "We've focused on municipal contracts in India. Now we're looking at industry. We're talking to companies."