NITI Aayog releases composite water management index

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

The composite water management index (CWMI) 2.0 was released by NITI Aayog on Friday in the presence of Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar.

The states are ranked across nine themes and cover 25 states and two union territories.


Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the objective of index is to involve all key stakeholders to understand how states can better manage water resources.

The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of states and 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 jal shakti, ministry of rural development and all the states/ union territories.

The index provides 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.

CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17. NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states. This was a first ever attempt at creating 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.