What is NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21? What is the rank of your state?

The NITI Aayog on June 3, 2021, released the third edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2020-21.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog launched in the report titled SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020-21: Partnerships in the Decade of Action. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Dr. Vinod Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Sanyukta Samaddar, Advisor (SGDs), NITI Aayog were present at the launch.

What is the SDG India Index?

•The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, constructed by NITI Aayog is an aggregate measure that provides a holistic view of the performance of the States and Union Territories to the government, policymakers, businesses, and public. The Index measures the performance of states and UTs on basis of economic, social, and environmental parameters.

•The first edition of the SDG India Index was launched in 2018 that covered 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 62 indicators.

•The SDG India Index report ranks the States and Union Territories on a score of 0 to 100. There are four categories to group states on basis of their score: Aspirant (0-49), Performer (50-64), Front-Runner (65-99), and Achiever (100).

The SDG India Index: Significance

•The SDG India Index is designed and developed by NITI Aayog with extensive consultations with the States and Union Territories, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), UN agencies led by the United Nations in India, and the key Union Ministries.

•SDG India Index continues to be a rare data-driven initiative to rank our States and Union Territories by computing a composite index on the SDGs.

•Dr Rajiv Kumar during the launch said, “Our effort of monitoring SDGs through the SDG India Index and Dashboard continues to be widely noticed and applauded around the world.” 

SDG India Index 2020-21: Kerala ranks top, Bihar worst

•Kerala ranked as the top-performing state with a score of 75 while Bihar was the worst performing state with a score of 52 in the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21.

•The top-performing states in the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21 are Kerala at the first rank followed by Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu at second, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Uttarakhand at third, Sikkim at fourth, and Maharashtra at fifth rank.

•The worst performing states in the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21 are Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, and Bihar at the bottom.

SDG India Index 2020-21: Third Edition

•The SDG India Index 2020-21 report tracked the progress of all Indian states and UTs on 115 indicators in alignment with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)’s National Indicator Framework (NIF). The first edition of the SDG India Index was launched in December 2018.

•SDG India Index 2020-21 evaluated the States and Union Territories on 16 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a scale of 0 to 100. The SDG 2020-21 report mentioned that India’s overall SDG score has improved by 6 points, from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21.

•The SDG India Index 2020-21 ranked 15 states/UTs in the Performer category and 22 states/UTs in the Front-Runner category while no state or UT made it to the aspirant or achiever category

•12 more states and UTs - Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Punjab, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Ladakh found themselves in the Front-runners category in the third edition of SDG India Index 2020-21. There were ten states and UTs in the front-runners' category in the 2019 edition.

•The theme of SDG India Index 2020-21 focuses on the significance of partnerships. “It is clear that by working together we can build a more resilient and sustainable future, where no one is left behind,” said Dr. Vinod Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog on the theme of partnerships which is central to Goal 17.