NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Index

NITI Aayog released third edition of Sustainable Development Index for 2020-2021, evaluating progress of states and Union Territories with respect to social, economic and environmental parameters.

Sustainable Development Index 2021

• In the index, Kerala has retained the top rank with score of 75.
• Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were worst performers.
• Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu retained second spot with score of 74.
• Chandigarh retained top spot among UTs with a score of 79. It is followed by Delhi with score 68.
• In terms of score improvement, Mizoram, Haryana and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in 2020-21 who have gained 12, 10 and 8 points, respectively as compared to index of 2019-2020.

Front Runners

In 2019, 10 states & UTs were categorized as front-runners with score in range 65-99. In 2020-2021, 12 more states & UTs were listed in this category. States like, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Haryana, Tripura, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are states or UTs in this category.

India’s Overall SDG Score

India’s overall SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) score has increased from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21. This increase is driven by good performance in SDG goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG goal 7 (affordable and clean energy).

About index of Sustainable Index

This index was first launched in December 2018. It is a primary tool of monitoring progress on SDGs in India. It also fostered competition among states and union territories by ranking them on the basis of global goals. Index was developed in collaboration with United Nations in India to measure progress at National and sub-national level.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2021