India has improved three position from 57 points last year to 60 this year, slowly inching towards fulfilment of sustainable development goals (SDGs), according to NITI Aayog’s latest SDG index. Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the better performing States, while Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh are the bottom most States.
India’s ranking in terms of poverty has fallen from 54 points in 2018 to 50 points in 2019. Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand have become poorer, if the index is anything to go by. Even on the hunger front, India has slipped 13 points down with the majority of the States in the country except Punjab, North East, Kerala and Goa in the red as far as malnutrition is concerned.
Further, India has slipped a point down, from 65 to 64 as far as economic growth goes. Data points considered to reach the conclusion were annual growth rate of net domestic product per capita, ease of doing business, unemployment rate and labour force participation.
The problem areas
Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, said nutrition and gender equality continue to be problem areas for the country which require a more focussed approach. Kumar also said the index will generate completion among the States to further improve on SDGs such as poverty, education and health.