State slips 4 places, key SDGs not up to mark

BHUBANESWAR :  Odisha has slipped four places in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rankings released by the NITI Aayog for 2020-21. From 15th slot last year, it has fallen a few notches down to 19th rank. 

Though its composite score has improved from 58 to 61, putting it among the performers bracket, it remains among bottom five states along with Nagaland and Chhattisgarh. Performances of the states were assessed from 16 SDGs.

Besides a drop in its ranks, the report of the NITI Aayog also exposed the State’s performance in several critical social sector parameters. In achieving the SDG goals - zero poverty, no hunger, good health and well being, quality education, gender equality and peace, justice and strong institutions - the State is found lagging in crucial areas.

In No Poverty, its population below poverty line (32.59 pc), household covered by health insurance (47.7 pc) and those living in kutcha houses (14.2 pc) have shown no improvement. Employment provided against demand under MGNREGA has seen a marginal drop. The share of people living in kutcha houses is second only to Arunachal Pradesh’s 29 pc.

In the Zero Hunger SDG, the picture is poor. Odisha still has 29.2 pc children below five years who are underweight and an equal number of children with stunted growth. Besides, 47.6 pc of pregnant women and 29.5 pc adolescents are anaemic. Gross value added in agriculture has shown a drop.

The Decent and Economic Growth segment shows employment rate has grown from 7.1 pc  in 2019 to 7.6 pc in 2020. In terms of manufacturing employment as a percentage of total employment, it has recorded a growth to 8.15 pc from 7.42 pc in 2019. Suprisingly, in Ease of Doing Business criteria under SDG Goal 8, it scored a zero.

In Good Health and Well Being, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) has shown good improvement - from 168 deaths per one lakh live births to 150 while child mortality rate at 44 in 1,000 births has also registered an improvement from 48 in 2019. However, the number of physicians, nurses and midwives per 10,000 population remained at 39, a drop from 41 last year. 

Besides, in the Quality Education SDG, the State’s performance has improved rapidly to 9.52 pc from over 28 pc in 2019. However, only 68.71 pc of schools have access to infrastructure like electricity and drinking water. 

State slips 4 places, key SDGs not up to mark

However, the State has much to achieve in gender equality as the rate of crime against women at 103.5 per one lakh remains one of the highest in the country and has showed a rise. Only 4.06 operational land holding remains with women in the State, a state which has not improved.

The State remains lagging in Decent Work and Economic Growth with only 11.92 bank branches and 15.72 ATMs per one lakh population. The State, however, has 75.09 pc mobile connection reporting a rise while its 44.87 pc internet coverage is a large drop from 122 pc in 2019. 

The report showed Odisha’s coverage of Aadhaar was high at 97 pc and the State lost only 22.78 lives in 1 crore population due to extreme weather events. In a Covid-induced performance which witnessed lockdowns and shutdowns for long periods last year, the State has excelled in some of the SDGs like Life Below Water, Life of Land and Climate Action.

Worrying stats

• Slip from 15 to 19th rank in SDG
• 32.59 pc of population still below poverty line
• 14.2 pc of people still live in kutcha houses
• Nearly 29 pc underweight and stunted children
• 47.6 pc pregnant women are anaemic
• Crime against women at 103.5 per lakh among the highest in country