NITI Aayog prepares report on Composite Water Management Index

As a step further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, NITI Aayog has prepared a report on Composite Water Management Index (CWMI).

The report released today ranks Gujarat as number one in the reference year (2016-17), followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Tripura has been adjudged number 1 in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam.

In terms of incremental change in index (over 2015-16 level), Rajasthan holds number one position in general States and Tripura ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. NITI Aayog proposes to publish these ranks on an annual basis in future.

The Report was launched today by Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Secretaries/ senior officials of Ministry of Water Resources, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Rural Development were also present at the launch event.

In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, NITI Aayog has been laying emphasis on developing indicators on various social sectors.

In February 2018, NITI Aayog had released a report on "Healthy States, Progressive India" which covered the ranking of States/ UTs in various health parameters.

The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.

This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and all the States/ Union Territories.

The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.

Simultaneously a web portal on the subject has also been launched.

CWMI has been developed by NITI Aayog comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects of groundwater, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance (Box-1).

For the purposes of analysis, the reporting states were divided into two special groups - 'North Eastern and Himalayan states' and 'Other States', to account for the different hydrological conditions across these groups.