New Delhi: Government think tank NITI Aayog will come out with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Index next month to rank states based on their performance in this field. The report rates states on 82 schemes of 38 central ministries, using 75 indicators to capture SDG targets.
SDGs are an ambitious commitment by the world’s leaders to ensure that people across the world enjoy peace and prosperity and also achieve environmental sustainability by 2030.
SDGs comprise 17 goals, which include ending poverty and hunger, quality education, gender equality, clean water, sanitation and energy.
In India, the Prime Minister’s Office had last year appointed NITI Aayog as the supervising agency for SDGs to improve India’s global performance.
“The index will help the government spur healthy competition among states to deliver on social and environment sectors. Besides, it will be an important tool for policy analysis that can help channelize energy and focus in the right direction,” said a senior government official who is part of the exercise, on condition of anonymity.
Some of the best performing states according to the index are Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal, he said.
A NITI Aayog official confirmed the development.
“This index will measure the performance of states on the priority and scheme indicators and highlight the efforts being made by each state in achieving the SDG agenda. The initiative highlights the importance accorded by India towards the SDG agenda and the country’s willingness to implement it,” said the official.
According to the index report prepared by the think tank, the SDGs will offer an actionable framework that can help state governments evaluate their performance on social, economic and environmental parameters.