India improves Sustainable Development Goals Index score by three positions

News:Niti Aayog has released the sustainable development goals index 2019-20.

Facts:

About SDG India Index:

• SDG India Index and Dashboard has been developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Global Green Growth Institute and the United Nations.
• The index indicates where the country and its States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation.It also charts the distance to be travelled to reach the SDG targets.
• The 2019 Index covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17.
• As per the Index, the composite score for each state/UT is computed by aggregating their performance across the goals and then by taking the arithmetic mean of individual goal scores. 
• A score of 100 implies that the State/ UT has achieved the targets set for 2030 and a score of 0 implies that the particular State/UT is at the bottom of the table.

Key takeaways from the Index:

• India’s composite score has improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019-20 with major success in water and sanitation, power and industry. 
• However, nutrition and gender equality continue to be problem areas for India requiring more focused approach from the government.
• Kerala has topped the index.It was followed by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
• Amongst Union territories,Chandigarh topped the list, while Puducherry is ranked second.Dadra and Nagar Haveli has been ranked third among Union territories.
• Uttar Pradesh has shown maximum improvement followed by Odisha and Sikkim.
• Bihar is the worst performer on the SDG India index.The states like Gujarat have also not shown any improvement vis-a-vis first ranking in 2018.