NITI Aayog on Monday released the second edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index which comprehensively documents the progress made by states and union territories towards achieving the 2030 SDG targets.
The SDG India Index -- which has been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), United Nations in India and Global Green Growth Institute -- was launched by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, Members Ramesh Chand and V K Paul, CEO Amitabh Kant, UN Resident Coordinator Renata Dessallien, MoSPI Secretary and Chief Statistician of India Pravin Srivastava, and NITI Aayog SDG Adviser Sanyukta Samaddar.
"The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not leave any stone unturned to make sure India achieves Agenda 2030, said Kumar.
"There is commendable traction and no complacency. NITI Aayog has committed itself to building capacities and monitoring progress at the state level. Close coordination with the states over the next five years will further accelerate SDG localisation and ensure greater improvement," he said.
UN Resident Coordinator Renata Dessallien said the world is entering final decade for achieving the SDGs -- the Decade for Action.
"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us that we have 12 years left to save the planet from the worst effects of climate change. So the time to act is now. The SDG India Index 2.0 and the dashboard enables India to both track and encourage accelerated progress to meet the SDGs across all its states and union territories," she said.
India's composite score has improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019, thereby showing noticeable progress. The maximum gains have been made in Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 7 (affordable and clean energy).
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All three states that were in the 'aspirant' category with scores in the range of 0 to 49 -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam -- have graduated to the 'performer' category (50 to 64). Five states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Goa and Sikkim -- moved up from the 'performer' category to the 'front runner' category (65 to 99).
Kerala achieved the first rank in the composite SDG Index with a score of 70 followed by Himachal Pradesh at 69. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu ranked at the third position with the score of 67.
The biggest improvers since 2018 are Uttar Pradesh (which has moved from the 29th position to the 23rd), Orissa (23rd to 15th) and Sikkim (15th to 7th). While Bihar improved its score from 48 in 2018 to 50 in 2019, it still has a long way to go in achieving the targets.
The world is now in the fifth year of the SDG era. "India's National Development Agenda is mirrored in the SDGs. India's progress in the global goals is crucial for the world as the country is home to about one-sixth of the world's population," according to an official statement.
NITI Aayog has the twin mandate to oversee the implementation of SDGs in the country, and promote competitive and cooperative federalism among states and union territories.