NITI Aayog Releases SDG India Index 2020 –21

The 3^rd edition of the SDG India Index 2020 – 21 was released by Niti Aayog on Thursday. The index documents and ranks the progress made by States and Union Territories towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDG India Index 2020-21, developed in collaboration with the United Nations in India, tracks progress of all States and UTs on 115 indicators that are aligned to MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework (NIF).

The Sustainable Development Index (SDG Index) was launched by Niti Aayog in 2018 and has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in the country and has simultaneously fostered competition among the States and Union Territories.

The report titled “SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21: Partnerships in the Decade of Action” was launched by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar.

Niti Aayog has the twin mandate to oversee the adoption and monitoring of the SDGs in the country, and also promote competitive and cooperative federalism among States and UTs. The index represents the articulation of the comprehensive nature of the Global Goals under the 2030 Agenda while being attuned to the national priorities.

Method of Ranking:

The SDG India Index computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each State and Union Territory. Overall State and UT scores are generated from goal-wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the sub-national unit based on its performance across the 16 SDGs.

These scores range between 0–100, and if a State/UT achieves a score of 100, it signifies it has achieved the 2030 targets. The higher the score of a State/UT, the greater the distance to target achieved. States and Union Territories are classified as below based on their SDG India Index score:

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

The SDG India Index 2020 – 21 Report: Highlights

While the first edition in 2018 covered 13 SDG Goals with 62 indicators, this third edition is more robust and covers 6 Goals on 115 quantitative indicators along with a qualitative assessment on Goal 17
The SDG India Index 2020–21 covers 70 SDG targets.
The country’s overall SDG score improved by 6 points— from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020 – 21.
This positive stride towards achieving the targets is largely driven by exemplary country-wide performance in Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and Goal 7(Affordable and Clean Energy).
Among States, Kerala is at overall top position, followed closely by Himachal Pradesh & Tamil Nadu.
Score-wise, overall Chandigarh is at top position with score of 79 and Kerala is at second position with score of 75.
Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in 2020–21 in terms of improvement in score from 2019.
Two goals – 2 (zero hunger) and 5 (gender equality) demand special attention, as the overall country score is below 50.