In Brief: How Indian States Performed On NITI Aayog’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ Index In 2020

According to the NITI Aayog’s 2020 SDG Index, India witnessed significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health last year.

The index also shows improvement in the inequality SDGs.

On the other hand, there was a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth - possible side effect of the pandemic.

The SDG Index

The index is developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations. It was first launched in December 2018.

It ranks all states and UTs based on 115 indicators (16 goals and 70 targets) aligned with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The indicators assess the performance in health, education, gender, economic growth, institutions, climate change and environment etc.

The scores range between 0–100, and categorises the states into:

• Aspirant: 0–49
• Performer: 50–64
• Front-runner: 65–99
• Achiever: 100

Reportedly, currently, there are no states in the aspirant and achiever category; 22 states/UTs are in the front runner category, while 15 states/UTs are in the performer category.

The data driven assessment by the Index is aimed at fostering a competitive spirit among the States and Union Territories in achieving the SDGs with a deadline of 2030.

How India Performed In 2020

The country’s overall SDG score improved by 6 points to 66 in 2020-21 as compared to 60 in 2019, largely driven by country-wide good performance in Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).

A look at the performance makes it clear that the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha almost inevitably come at the bottom, and, hence, need special attention.

Overall, India shows improvement in scores on nine indicators pertaining to poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, inequality overall, clean energy, sustainability, and strong institutions.

On the other hand, India witnessed a decline in five indicators, including those pertaining to education, industry, innovation and infrastructure.

This year, in measuring inequality, the NITI Aayog has given greater weightage to social indicators instead of economic indicators.

In 2019, the indicators for inequality included the Gini coefficient as well as growth rates for household expenditure per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of rural and urban populations.

The 2018 indicators included the Palma ratio, another metric for income inequality.

These have not been used for the 2020 edition of the Index. Instead, the 2020 Index gives greater weightage to social equality indicators, such as the percentage of women and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe representatives in State Legislatures and the panchayati raj institutions and the levels of crime against the SC/ST communities.

The only economic indicator this year is the percentage of population in the lowest two wealth quintiles.

How States Performed In 2020

Kerala retained the top spot with a score of 75, followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 72. Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing states.

However, all the states showed some improvement from last year’s scores, with Mizoram, Haryana and Uttarakhand seeing the biggest gains with an increase of 12, 10 and 8 points, respectively.

Chandigarh achieved first rank among the UTs with a score of 79, followed by Delhi at 68.

With regards to Goal 1 (No Poverty), Delhi and Tamil Nadu performed the best; On Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Kerala and Chandigarh were the best performers.

Gujarat and Delhi aced Goal 3 (Good Health and Well Being), while Kerala and Chandigarh topped in Goal 4 (Quality Education) as well as Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).

In Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar performed the best; while Goa and Lakshadweep aced Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

The full SDG India Index report can be accessed here; and the interactive dashboard can be accessed here.