SDG India Index , It’s importance and Highlights

SDG India Index , It’s importance and Highlights

What is the News?

Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have been ranked highest in terms of being on track to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), according to a first-of-its-kind index released by NITI Aayog.

The index comprises a composite score for each State and Union Territory based on their aggregate performance across 13 of the 17 SDGs. The score, ranging between 0 and 100, denotes the average performance of the State/UT towards achieving the 13 SDGs and their respective targets. The average Indian score was 57.

What is it?

• NITI Aayog has released the Baseline Report of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2018.
• The index documented the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories (UTs) towards implementation of the 2030 SDG targets.
• SDG India Index was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics &Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Global Green Growth Institute and United Nations in India.
• The aim of the index is to instil competition among States to improve their performance across social indices as the States’ progress will determine India’s progress towards achieving the set goals by 2030.
• Using the index, States will be monitored on a real-time basis.

Importance of the Index

SDG India Index acts as a bridge between these mandates, aligning the SDGs with the Prime Minister’s clarion call of ‘SabkaSaath – Sabka Vikas’, which embodies the five Ps of the global SDG movement – People, Planet, Prosperity, Partnership and Peace.

Highlights of the Index

• According to the SDG India Index, the nation as a whole has a score of 58, showing the country has reached a little beyond the halfway mark in meeting the sustainable development goals adopted by India and 192 other nations in 2015.
• Top 3 states in terms of being on track to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):
  • Himachal Pradesh
  • Kerala
  • Tamil Nadu
• The SDG Index Score for Sustainable Development Goals 2030 ranges between 42 and 69 for States and between 57 and 68 for UTs.
• Kerala’s top rank is attributed to its superior performance in providing good health, reducing hunger, achieving gender equality and providing quality education.
• Himachal Pradesh ranks high on providing clean water and sanitation, in reducing inequalities and preserving the mountain ecosystem.
• Among the UTs, Chandigarh takes the lead because of its exemplary performance in providing clean water and sanitation to its people.
• Overall, the average score for the States was the worst when it came to gender equality (36), in creating sustainable cities and communities (39), in enabling industry, innovation, and infrastructure (44), and in eradicating hunger (48).

By: Sai Eswar