Himachal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu lead performers in NITI Aayog's sustainable development goals index

New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have emerged as top performing states in NITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2018, which evaluates progress in social, economic and environmental terms, according to a report released on Friday. Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the worst performing states in the government think tank’s first of its kind India Index for  (SDG). NITI Aayog has developed the SDG India Index which is a comprehensive index to measure progress of states/Union Territories (UTs), through a single measurable index and the first baseline report for 2018 was prepared with the support of United Nations (UN) in India. [caption id=“attachment_4504639” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The index took into account 13 out of 17 goals specified by United Nation’s as SDGs and left out four goals because of lack of data at the state level. Under the index, states will be monitored on real time basis across 62 of 306 national indicators outlined by the United Nations. The United Nations sponsored SDG has 17 goals, 169 targets and 306 national indicators. “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 mountain ecosystem,” the document titled ‘SDG India Index Baseline Report 2018’ said. Among the UTs, Chandigarh took the lead because of its exemplary performance in providing clean water and sanitation to people. With regard to poverty reduction, the states which have done well include Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu. On ‘zero hunger’ parameters, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland were the front runners, according to the document. On the report, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said, “The ‘SDG India Index: Baseline report 2018’ highlights the progress being made by states and UTs in moving towards multiple targets of the SDGs, in the true spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the SDG India Index tracks the progress of all states and UTs on 62 national indicators and has been developed to provide a holistic view on social, economic and environmental status of the country. The SDGs are an ambitious commitment by world leaders which set out a universal and an unprecedented agenda which embraces economic, environmental and social aspects of the well-being of societies. The progress of the world to meet the SDGs, largely depends on India’s progress, the document said. India played a prominent role in the formulation of SDGs and much of the country’s national development agenda is mirrored in the SDGs, it added. “They are a part of ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, which was adopted by 193 member states at the historic United Nations General Assembly Summit in September 2015, and came into effect on January 1, 2016,” the document said.