Multidimensional analysis of water sector performance in India: an index approach

Abstract

This article is about the development of a new index for integrated assessment of water sector performance in India. It has been widely accepted and cited that for integrated assessment of the water sector, a multidimensional index is required. Water Poverty Index (WPI) is a multidimensional index used internationally at different scales and levels for performance analysis of the water sector. The methodology used to calculate WPI is based on subjective weight method i.e. equally-weighted average of its five components, namely resources, access, capacity, use, and environment. The main objective of this study is to remove the subjectivity in assigning weights by using data envelopment analysis (DEA). In India, water-related challenges and problems vary from state to state due to geographical and institutional constraints. In this study 11 major states of India are considered to assess the role and impact of these constraints on the overall water sector performance. DEA methodology has been used in this study to benchmark the water sector performance of different Indian states. In this study, we have used DEA to calculate the aggregate index for different states of India. A total of 20 variables, capturing the multidimensional aspect of the water sector have been used in this analysis. This study could be helpful for policymakers to prioritize and understand the area of improvement in the water sector.