NITI Aayog Releases Composite Water Management Index 2.0

Niti Aayog today released the Composite Water Management Index 2.0 (CWMI 2.0). The index is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of states and union territories for efficient management of water resources in their respective states.

This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Rural Development and all the states and union territories.

The top 5 states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka who have excelled on the Composite Water Management Index 2.0 for 2017-18 among non-Himalayan states. Among North-Eastern and Himalayan states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tripura are on top of the index.

This index was earlier released in 2018 in which Gujarat had emerged as the top state in composite water management in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been the worst performers in the ranking. Last year, Tripura was the top performer in the northeast.

[related_post]

The CWMI index provides useful information for the states and also for the concerned central ministries and departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.  CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17.

The Composite Water Management Index 2.0 was launched by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, minister of Jal Shakti, and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of NITI Aayog. The states are ranked across nine themes and cover 25 states and two union territories. These include various aspects of groundwater, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance.

After its launch in 2018, CWMI 2.0 was the first-ever attempt to create a pan-India set of metrics that measured different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water. The report was widely acknowledged and provided actionable guidance to states on where they were doing well absolutely and relatively and what they needed to focus on to secure their water future.

To read more about the report click here