India slips to 117th spot on UN Sustainable Development Goals Index; Jharkhand, Bihar are worst performers

New Delhi: India’s rank has slipped by two places from last year to 117 on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted as a part of the 2030 agenda by 193 United Nations member states in 2015, a new report has said. The State of India’s Environment Report 2021 revealed that India’s rank was 115 last year and dropped by two places primarily because major challenges like ending hunger and achieving food security (SDG 2), achieving gender equality (SDG 5) and building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation (SDG 9) remain in the country. India ranks below four South Asian countries — Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it said. The overall SDG score of India is 61.9 out of 100. Elaborating state-wise preparedness, the report said Jharkhand and Bihar are the least prepared to meet the SDGs by 2030, which is the target year. While Jharkhand lags in five of the SDGs, Bihar lags in seven. It said the states/UTs with the best overall score which are on the path to achieving the SDGs are Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, which provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. There are 17 SDGs which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. The 17 SDGs adopted by UN member states are SDG1- no poverty, SDG 2-zero hunger, SDG3-good health and well-being, SDG4- quality education, SDG 5- gender equality, SDG 6- clean water and sanitation, SDG 7- affordable and clean energy, SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth, SDG 9- industry, innovation and infrastructure. SDG 10 – reduced inequalities, SDG 11- sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12- responsible consumption and production, SDG 13- climate action, SDG 14- life below water, SDG 15- life on land, SDG 16- peace, justice and strong institutions and lastly SDG 17- strengthening global partnerships for the goals. The report also said that India ranked 168 out of 180 countries in terms of Environmental Performance Index (EPI) which is calculated on various indicators, including environmental health, climate, air pollution, sanitation and drinking water, ecosystem services, biodiversity, etc. India’’s rank was 172 in the environmental health category, which is an indicator of how well countries are protecting their populations from environmental health risks. According to the EPI 2020 report by Yale University, India ranked 148, 21 positions behind Pakistan which was at 127th position in the category of biodiversity and habitat which assesses countries’’ actions toward retaining natural ecosystems and protecting the full range of biodiversity within their borders.