SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL INDEX

Context: NITI Aayog has released the 2019 SDG India Index.

The index evaluates progress of States and Union Territories on social, economic and environmental parameters.

Key facts:

• The SDG India Index, launched last year by Niti Aayog with the help of United Nations, took into account 16 out of 17 goals specified by the United Nations as SDGs .
• The Index this year ranked states based on 54 targets spread over 100 indicators out of 306 outlined by the UN.
• The first report, which was launched in 2018 had 13 goals and 39 indicators.
• The year 2020 will be the fifth anniversary of the adoption of SDGs by 193 countries at the UN General Assembly.
• The SDGs, constituted through an unprecedented consultative process, have 17 goals and 169 related targets to be achieved by 2030.

Performance of various states:

1. Kerala retained the top rank with a score of 70.
2. Himachal Pradesh took the second spot while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana shared the third spot.
3. Chandigarh maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 70.
4. Relative performance: Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have shown maximum improvement, but states like Gujarat have not shown any progress vis-a-vis 2018 rankings.
5. Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are the worst performing states.
6. Only three states were placed in the category of Front Runners (with a score in the range 65-99, including both) in 2018 – Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. In 2019, five more states joined this league –Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Sikkim and Goa, taking the total tally to eight.
7. With regard to poverty reduction, states which have done well include Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim.
8. On ‘zero hunger’ parameters, Goa, Mizoram, Kerala, Nagaland and Manipur were the front runners.

Overall India’s performance:

1. India’s composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019 with major success in water and sanitation, industry and innovation.
2. However, nutrition and gender continue to be problem areas for India, requiring more focussed approach from the government.
3. While three out of five states in the top spots perform equal to or better than the country average on 12 goals, the other two states do the same on 11 goals.