NITI Aayog releases SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020-21

On June 3, 2021, NITI Aayog released the report “SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020-21”. NITI Aayog had developed the framework of such an Index back in 2018, to capture the progress made by our States and Union Territories. It has since become the primary tool to monitor the progress and achievements towards realising the 2030 Agenda. The Index, published annually since then, has become instrumental in bringing the SDGs on the table for policy dialogue, formulation and implementation among governments and civil society, while instilling a competitive spirit. 

For the 2021 Index, the composite score for each State/UT was computed by aggregating their performance across the goals, by taking the arithmetic mean of individual goal scores. The composite score ranges from 0 to 100 and denotes the overall achievement of the State/UT in achieving the targets under the Goals. A score of 100 implies that the State/UT has achieved the targets set for 2030; a score of 0 implies that the particular State/UT is at the bottom of the table.

The main results in the 2021 Index were:

• The SDG India Index 3.0 score for the States ranges between 52 and 75; for the UTs it belongs to the 62 to 79 band. This presents a notable improvement from 2019-20, when the scores varied between 50 and 70 for the States and 59 and 70 for the UTs.
• Kerala retained its rank as the top State with a score of 75. Chandigarh too maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 79. 
• Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh took the second spot while Goa, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh shared the fourth spot on the table.
• The composite score for India improved, from 60 in 2019-20 to 66 in 2020-21. This indicates that the country overall has progressed forward in its journey towards achieving the SDGs. Nine Goals drive the positive push – 3 (good health and well-being), 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 10 (reduced inequalities), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 15 (life on land), and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), where India has scored between 65 and 99.
• Two goals - 2 (zero hunger) and 5 (gender equality) - demand special attention, as the overall country score is below 50. However, 9 States in Goal 2 and 12 States in Goal 5 moved out of the Aspirant category this year as compared to 2019-20.
• In the other five goals (excluding 14 - life below water, which applies only to 9 coastal States, and 17 - partnerships for the goals, which is qualitatively analysed), the overall score lies between 50 and 64, including both, indicating the scope for significant improvement in the coming years.
• While in 2019-20, 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. Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Haryana and Tripura graduated to the category of Front Runners (scores between 65 and 99, including both).
• Goal 6 has the highest number of Front Runners with 25 States in this category while Goals 5 and 9 have the highest Aspirants with 14 States each.
• In SDG 3, SDG 10, SDG 11 and SDG 12, the country score has moved from the Performer category to the Front Runner category. Among them, Goal 11 has seen the biggest movement from 53 in 2019-20 to 79 in 2020-21.
• All States have improved their score within a range of 1 to 12 points. Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in 2020-21, in terms of improvement in score from 2019, with an increase of 12, 10 and 8 points, respectively.