Pure Earth is a global leader in environmental health, partnering with governments in more than 20 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America to reduce lead exposure and support long-term health and economic progress. At the heart of Pure Earth’s model is a belief in government leadership, institutional strengthening, and systemic change. Active in India since 2006, Pure Earth’s work spans blood lead surveillance, identifyingsources of lead toxicity, and source-specific solutions including strengthening regulatory and enforcement processes, generating awareness, and promoting lead-free alternative practices.
Pure Earth India, registered as PE Lead India Pvt Ltd, provides technical and implementation support for Pure Earth’s work in the country. With a central office in New Delhi, Pure Earth India currently supports work across Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and with plans to expand to Assam and Rajasthan in India, and operations in Nepal. We work closely with central and state governments to support evidence generation, identifying exposure pathways, and designing scalable mitigation interventions.
Pure Earth’s Work in India
India bears the highest health and economic burden of lead exposure in the world, making this an urgent and time-sensitive issue. Nearly half of India’s children are estimated to have blood lead levels above the threshold of intervention. Exposure to lead results in reduced IQ and cognitive development challenges in children, and cardiovascular, kidney, and other health problems. It also amplifies anaemia and malnutrition, and leads to lower learning gains, lower earnings, and diminished national growth.
Lead poisoning is not inevitable. It is preventable, with the right protections at scale. We work with and support Pure Earth to scale this protection in India— deploying practical solutions that reduce exposure to lead andpartnering with central and state governments to ensure those solutions endure.
This includes supporting the execution of Pure Earth’s 5 phase model which includes: revealing the crisis through nationally representative blood lead level surveys; pinpointing exposure sources; reducing lead exposure through targeted mitigation strategies; mobilizing collective will by educating communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders; and building durable systems and government capacity to o ensure sustained reduction of lead exposure over time.
In Bihar and Tamil Nadu, Pure Earth India is providing technical and programmatic assistance to state governments for targeted mitigation strategies for identified sources such as turmeric and cookware. In Maharashtra, Pure Earth India and partners are working closely with the State Health Systems Resource Centre to support blood lead level surveys and environmental assessments to ultimately design and embed a lead exposure surveillance and response mechanism within the state. Our specialized work supports building the evidence base and institutional capacity required to tackle lead exposure at scale across India.
India represents the greatest opportunity in the world to reduce the burden of lead exposure. Reducing lead exposure would protect millions of children from permanent cognitive harm — preserving IQ, improving learning outcomes, and strengthening the productive capacity of the next generation in ways that compound over time. Pure Earth India’s role is to support the deployment of practical, scalable solutions that reduce lead exposure rapidly and cost-effectively, and protect India’s future generations.