SDG India Index 2019

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