Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA) – Maitreyi Arwari – 2025

Summary

Maitreyi Arwari worked at the intersection of research, policy, and on-ground coordination to strengthen Maharashtra’s capacity for climate-resilient development at the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA).

Goals

As the state of Maharashtra strives towards an ambitious one-trillion-dollar economy goal, it faces a defining question: can economic growth go hand-in-hand with safeguarding climate? Positioned at this intersection, Maitreyi supported MITRA on its climate-related endeavours spanning across coastal resilience, policy advisory, climate finance, green public procurement, and institutional strengthening, contributing to research and coordination.

Solutions

Maitreyi’s role at MITRA evolved within a highly dynamic policy environment. She conducted a thorough review of official government documents, policy frameworks, notifications and academic literature for the state of Maharashtra’s various initiatives like Carbon credit policy, Green Public Procurement, and Climate finance. She undertook an in-depth baseline study for Maharashtra’s 878 km coastline under the Strengthening Coastal Resilience and Economy (SHORE) project. This included mapping ecologically sensitive areas, analysing cyclone-related economic losses and identifying plastic pollution hotspots using geospatial tools.

In parallel, she supported on-ground coordination between state departments, municipal officials and World Bank teams for projects such as Maharashtra Urban Water Supply, Sanitation and Reuse Program Resilience Enhancement Project (MUWREP) in Jalgaon, and also engaged with over 35+ vulnerable residents in Ichalkaranji through stakeholder consultations. She further contributed to the development of a taluka-level climate advisory booklet to translate these insights into actionable guidance.

Potential Impact

Maitreyi’s work contributes towards Maharashtra’s long-term goals for climate-resilient growth in line with Vikasit Maharashtra 2047 vision. Her research inputs for MITRA’s initiatives across project SHORE, Policy on Climate Finance, Green Public Procurement, and the impact of climate on sectors at the Taluka level enabled clearer policy roadmaps. One of the potential impacts of her work can help unlock Maharashtra’s estimated climate finance requirement of INR 2,97,558.74 crore by 2030, as outlined by the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC). Collectively, these efforts have the potential to translate into state policy, positively impacting millions of vulnerable citizens and positioning the ambitions of Maharashtra’s sub-national action to shape a more resilient and climate-just future.