4 June – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS INDEX 2020 21
India saw significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health in 2020, according to the NITI Aayog’s 2020 SDG Index. However, there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth.
STATES’ PERFORMANMCE:
Kerala retained its position at the top of the rankings in the third edition of the index, with a score of 75, followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 74.
At the other end of the scale, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing States. However, all States showed some improvement from last year’s scores, with Mizoram and Haryana seeing the biggest gains.
The other top states were Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand According to the Index, Bihar was the worst performing state, while Jharkhand came second from the bottom.
The other three bottom five states included Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu and Delhi were adjudged the best in dealing with issues related to poverty alleviation.
Similarly, Kerala and Chandigarh did well to ensure zero hunger indices.
Chhattisgarh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands did well in ensuring gender equality.
Again, Delhi along with Gujarat topped the list in terms of having good infrastructure.
In terms of peace and justice, Uttarakhand and Puducherry were found to be the best.
Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh scored highest in economic growth.
Among the union territories, Chandigarh topped the chart, followed by Delhi Puducherry and Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Haryana, Tripura, Delhi, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh graduated to the category of front-runners (scores between 65 and 99, including both).
While in 2019, 10 states/UTs belonged to the category of front-runners (score in the range 65-99, including both), 12 more states/UTs find themselves in this category in 2020-21.
Holistic development
Developed by a global consultative process on holistic development, the 17 SDGs have a 2030 deadline. The NITI Aayog launched its index in 2018 to monitor the country’s progress on the goals through data-driven assessment, and foster a competitive spirit among the States and Union Territories in achieving them.
Niti Aayog’s sustainable development goal’s index evaluates the progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environment criteria.
As the Index was prepared on the basis of 16 identified goals, including social, environmental and economic parameters, different states did well on different counts.
In March, a UN assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the SDGs said the region India is part of may see rising inequality due to the pandemic.
The NITI Aayog Index shows some improvement in the SDG on inequality, but a look at the indicators used to assess this goal shows that the think tank has changed the goalposts.
In 2019, the indicators for inequality included the growth rates for household expenditure per capita among the bottom 40% of rural and urban populations, as well as the Gini coefficient — a measure of the distribution of income — in rural and urban India.
Greater weightage
Such economic measures have been omitted from the indicators used for this SDG in the 2020 edition of the NITI Aayog’s Index.
Instead, it gives greater weightage to social equality indicators such as the percentage of women and SC/ST representatives in State legislatures and the panchayati raj institutions, and the levels of crime against SC/ST communities. The only economic indicator this year is the percentage of population in the lowest two wealth quintiles.
The 2018 indicators included the Palma ratio, another metric for income inequality.
INDIA’S PERFORMANCE
The country bettered its Sustainable Development Goal score, climbing 6 points from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2021. The improvement comes as a result of improvement in two key areas — clean water and sanitation and affordable and clean energy.
From covering 13 Goals with 62 indicators in its first edition in 2018, the third edition covers 16 Goals on 115 quantitative indicators, with a qualitative assessment on Goal 17.
The SDGs that do deal directly with wages and industrial growth better reflect the fact that India’s economy has taken a beating over the last year.
The country’s score on the SDG related to industry and infrastructure dropped 10 points to 55, while the scores on decent work dropped three points to 61.
The Clean Water and Sanitation SDG also saw a five-point drop, despite flagship government schemes in this sector.
In a more welcome development, the SDGs on eradication of poverty and hunger both saw significant improvement.