Why in news?

The composite water management index (CWMI) 2.0 was recently released by the NITI Aayog.

What is the index about?

• The states are ranked across 9 themes and cover 25 states and 2 union territories.
• [It does not include data from West Bengal, Mizoram, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir.]
• This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise.
• It was done in partnership with the ministry of jal shakti, ministry of rural development and all the states/union territories.

What are the objectives?

• The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of states and union territories in efficient management of water resources.
• It is an attempt to create a pan-India set of metrics that measure different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water.
• The objective of the index is to involve all key stakeholders to understand how states can better manage water resources.
• It provides useful information for the states and for the concerned central ministries/departments.
• This is to enable them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.

What are the highlights?

• 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.
• The report points out that 82% of rural households in India do not have individual piped water supply.
• 163 million live without access to clean water close to their homes.
• Around 80% of the states assessed over the last 3 years have improved their water management scores, with an average improvement of 5.2 points.
• However, 16 out of 27 states still score less than 50 points on the index, out of 100.
• They account for 48% of the population, 40% of agricultural produce and 35% of economic output of India.

What does the index imply?

• States are displaying progress in water management, but the overall performance remains below what is required to tackle the challenges.
• High-performers continue to demonstrate strong water management practices, but low-performers are struggling to cope up.
• By 2030, India’s water demand will exceed supply by two times, indicating severe water scarcity in the country.
• In fact, 820 million Indians living in 12 river basins have a per capita water availability close to or lower than 1,000 cubic metres.
• This is notably the official threshold for water scarcity.
• The average all-India per capita water availability is expected to be 1,341 cubic metres by 2025.
• It could touch a low of 1,140 cubic metres by 2050, close to the official water scarcity threshold.

What is the way forward?

• Going forward, states need to build on this momentum, and upgrade their water management practices to show outcomes and not just outputs.
• Areas like agriculture could have a larger impact on saving water along with focusing on low performing states.
• Several disparities exist in water management amongst states.
• Improved knowledge-sharing amongst states can enable them to learn and solidify water management practices across the board.