Gujarat has retained its first position in the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) 2.0 announced by the NITI Aayog. This is the 3rd consecutive year that the state has retained its position in water management sector. The report was released by Union Jal Shakti Minister Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr. Rajiv Kumar in New Delhi.
According to a press release issued in the state capital Gandhinagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had undertaken an initiative to setup Jal Shakti Ministry with an objective to maintain balance between development and environment. In this connection, NITI Aayog had also initiated the Composite Water Management Index for the states and union territories on the basis of study of their water management, water security and various usages and experiments of water cycles. 

NITI Aayog has conceptualized and launched the Composite Water Management Index as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states. 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 report is 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.


The Composite Water Management Index is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States and Union Territories in the efficient management of water resources. It 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 index provides useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries or Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.