The NITI Aayog recently released their 2020 SDG index, evaluate the sustainability goals to be achieved by each state of the country. This index showed significant improvement over the previous years and improvement in terms of reduction in inequality. Meanwhile, there was also a severe decline in terms of industry innovation and infrastructure as an effect of the pandemic.
The SDG or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index was launched in December 2018 by the NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations organisation. This is mainly used to rank all the states and union territories on the basis of 10-15 indicators like the performance in health, education, gender, economic growth, climate change and such. They are then scored based on the following scale.
The scores range between 0–100, and categorises the states into:
- Aspirant: 0–49
- Performer: 50–64
- Front-runner: 65–99
- Achiever: 100
It is to be noted that none of the states and union territories belonged to the first and last categories. The overall score of the country has gotten elevated 6 points higher to 66 in 2020-21 as compared to 60 in 2019. This progress was mainly due to the fulfillment of goals like Clean Water and Affordable and Clean Energy.
The results also revealed that the main indicators that had been showing significant decline were education, industry, innovation and infrastructure. The main states that were at the bottom were Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. On the other hand, there was a significant rise in the indicators like poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, inequality overall, clean energy, sustainability, and strong institutions. The full SDG India Index report can be accessed here, and the interactive dashboard can be accessed here.
(With inputs from Swarajya)
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