Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu top in NITI Aayog’s SDG Index
ITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2020-21 has ranked Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu ahead of other states in meeting welfare goals such as ending poverty and ensuring gender equality by 2030, while Assam, Jharkhand and Bihar are lagging behind.
NITI Aayog launched the SDG Index in 2018 to monitor the country’s progress on sustainable development goals through data-driven assessment with the aim to foster a competitive spirit among States and Union Territories. The SDG index is intended to serve as a baseline for developing a roadmap for human development. It has been developed in collaboration with the United Nations on the lines of the global Human Development Index (HDI). The SDGs comprise 17 goals and 169 related targets to be achieved by 2030. The Index serves as a key tool for policymakers to track the implementation of development schemes.
As per the Index, Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in 2020-21, and they have shown improvement since 2019. Kerala and Chandigarh are top performers in eliminating hunger and offering quality education, while Uttarakhand and Puducherry are top performers in peace, justice, and strong institutions. Delhi and Gujarat are the best performers in the areas such as industrial development, innovation and infrastructure.
As per the Index, India has covered two-thirds of the distance towards achieving the goals and needs to bridge the gap by 2030—with the SDG Composite Index 2021 at 66, compared to 60 in 2019.
The improvements have been mainly seen in areas such as good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and reduced social inequality. There has been significant improvement related to clean energy, urban development, and health in 2020, according to the Index. However, there has been a major decline in areas such as industry, innovation and infrastructure.
The Index highlights the areas in which more effort is needed.
