Primary Data Sources
Groundwater Monitoring
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) piezometric network, India-WRIS, and State Ground Water Department records.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
JJM Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) and PHED tap-connection registers.
Water Testing Laboratories
Public Health Water Testing Laboratory records (chemical and microbiological, per BIS 10500:2012).
Meteorological Records
India Meteorological Department (IMD) rain-gauge and temperature station records ($\ge 20$-year series).
Supply & Asset Registers
Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board (GWSSB) and Gram Panchayat infrastructure asset registers.
Demographic & Socio-economic
Census / Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) and household socio-economic surveys.
Livestock Census
Livestock Census (Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying) and local village surveys.
Disaster Management (DDMA)
District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) post-disaster functionality surveys and asset damage records.
VWSC & Pani Samiti Records
Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) / Pani Samiti attendance, O&M, and governance registers.
GIS & Remote Sensing
GIS / remote-sensing based village-boundary, waterbody, and pipeline-network mapping.
Reference Standards & Methodologies
| Standard / Methodology | Description & Application in VWRI |
|---|---|
| BIS 10500:2012 | Indian Standard for Drinking Water Specification — used as baseline for chemical and biological water-quality thresholds and safe drinking water compliance. |
| GEC-2015 Methodology | Groundwater Estimation Committee methodology for Dynamic Groundwater Resource Assessment, guiding groundwater recharge and draft evaluation. |
| Falkenmark Water Stress Index | Standard index for water availability per capita, applying the $1,700 \text{ m}^3\text{/capita/year}$ benchmark for water stress. |
| Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) | Meteorological drought index methodology recommended by WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and McKee et al. (1993), fitted to long-term rainfall series. |
| CEA Baseline & IPCC Factors | Central Electricity Authority (CEA) $\text{CO}_2$ baseline database and IPCC emission-factor guidelines for calculating greenhouse gas mitigation in water pumping and distribution. |
Research Publications
Harnessing Citizen Science to Measure Water-Sensitivity in Indian Urban Landscapes
Available at SSRN 5153808
Resource to risk: Inter-decadal and sub-seasonal rainfall modulation over Saurashtra region in Western India
HydroResearch (2025)
Hydrologic-hydraulic response of swales to stormwater runoff
Total Environment Advances, 200118 (2024)
Towards Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A Review of the Hydraulics of Curb Inlets in Stormwater Management
Next Research, 100251 (2025)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Village Water Resilience Index (VWRI)?
VWRI is a composite, indicator-based framework designed for Indian villages (anchored in Gujarat) to evaluate water resilience across five realms: Hydrological, Infrastructure, Water Quality, Climate, and Socio-economic.
How are raw indicator values converted to scores?
Raw values in physical units are first normalized to a 0–100 scale using min–max normalization (reversing direction for negative indicators). They are also rated on a 5-tier benchmark scale (Very Low to Very High) anchored to national standards.
How are Realm and Composite scores calculated?
Each Realm score is the weighted average of its normalized indicators. The Composite VWRI is computed using fixed realm weights: $\text{VWRI} = 0.30\text{H} + 0.20\text{I} + 0.15\text{WQ} + 0.15\text{C} + 0.20\text{SE}$.
How can Gram Panchayats and Pani Samitis use this?
Gram Panchayats, VWSCs/Pani Samitis, and line departments can identify exact vulnerabilities, track improvements across consecutive years, justify funding allocations, and align with Jal Jeevan Mission goals.