Why in news?
NITI Aayog has recently released the 'SDG India Index 2019'.
What is SDG India Index?
- The index aims to measure India and its States’ progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.
- The SDGs of the UN have 17 goals and 169 related targets to be achieved by 2030.
- The SDG India Index 2019 has been constructed spanning across 16 out of 17 SDGs with a qualitative assessment on SDG 17.
- The 2019 Index ranked states and UTs based on 54 targets spread over 100 indicators out of 306 outlined by the UN.
- It measures their progress on the outcomes of the interventions and schemes of the Government of India.
- The Index is intended to provide a holistic view on the social, economic and environmental status of the country and its States and UTs.
- The first report, which was launched in 2018, had 13 goals and 39 indicators.
What are the highlights of the 2019 index?
- Ranking - Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 70.
- Chandigarh too maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 70.
- Himachal Pradesh took the second spot while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana shared the third spot.
- Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are the worst performing states.
- Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have shown maximum improvement.
- West Bengal (rank 14) has also done well, but given the education level in the state, it should be in top 3 performing states.
- On the other hand, states like Gujarat have not shown any progress vis-a-vis 2018 rankings.
- Progress - Only 3 states were placed in the category of Front Runners (with a score in the range 65-99) in 2018.
- These were Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
- In 2019, 5 more states joined this league- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Sikkim and Goa.
- Parameters - With regard to poverty reduction, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim have done well.
- On 'zero hunger' parameters, Goa, Mizoram, Kerala, Nagaland and Manipur were the front-runners.
- India - India's composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019.
- The major contribution was success in water and sanitation, industry and innovation.
- However, nutrition and gender continue to be problem areas for India, requiring more focused approach from the government.
Source: Livemint, Indian Express
