COMPOSITE
WATER MANAGEMENT INDEX - REPORTS & INDICES
News: NITI Aayog Considers Discontinuing
Key Report on Water Management
What's
in the news?
●
Government policy think-tank NITI Aayog is
said to have marked reports on water management in states for the years 2018-19
and 2019-20 for “internal use” after releasing previous editions publicly.
Key
takeaways:
●
The ‘Composite Water Management Index’
(CWMI), first published in June 2018, ranked states in terms of efficacy of
water management on the basis of 28
parameters.
●
The first edition provided data for
2015-16 and 2016-17, and the second edition launched in August 2019 was for
2017-18.
Composite
Water Management Index (CWMI):
●
The National Institution for Transforming
India (NITI) Aayog has developed the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) to
enable effective water management in
Indian states.
●
The CWMI is the first comprehensive
collection of country-wide water data in India based on in-depth structured
questionnaires followed by focus group discussions to generate qualitative
information.
Released
by:
●
The report, published by NITI Aayog, was prepared in association
with three ministries – Water Resources, Drinking Water & Sanitation, and
Rural Development.
Features:
●
It represents a major step towards
creating a culture of data-based decision-making for water in India, which can
encourage “competitive and cooperative
federalism” in the country’s water governance and management.
●
The CWMI is an important tool to assess
and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient
management of water resources.
●
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.
Significance:
The Index and this
associated report are expected to:
●
Establish
a clear baseline and benchmark for state-level performance on key water
indicators.
●
Uncover and explain how states have
progressed on water issues over time, including identifying high-performers and
under-performers, thereby inculcating a culture of constructive federal
competition amongst states.
●
Identify areas for deeper engagement and
investment on the part of the states.
●
Develop the Index into a composite,
national-level data management platform for all water resources in India.
Themes
of the report:
The Composite Water
Management Index is divided into nine
themes such as
●
Source augmentation and restoration of
water bodies
●
Policy and governance
●
Participatory irrigation practice -
Demand-side management
●
Source augmentation (Groundwater)
●
Rural Drinking Water
●
Urban water supply & sanitation
●
Major and Medium Irrigation Supply-side
management
●
Watershed development - Supply-side
management
●
Sustainable on-farm water use practices -
Demand-side management
Key
highlights of the report:
●
CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the
base year 2016-17.
●
Gujarat
has retained its first position in the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)
2.0.
●
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Goa and Karnataka have topped the CWMI 2.0 for 2017-18 among non-Himalayan
states.
●
Among Himalayan states, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand and Tripura are on top of the index.