HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, July 13: Nagaland topped Goal 5 (Gender Equality) with a score of 74 but was ranked among the three worst-performing states, along with Bihar and Jharkhand, in NITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 released on Friday.
Uttarakhand and Kerala have emerged as joint top performing states with a score of 79, followed by Tamil Nadu (78) and Goa (77). Â Bihar (57), Jharkhand (62) and Nagaland (63) were the worst performing states.
Among the union territories, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Delhi were the top five performers.
SDG India Index 2023-24 was released by NITI Aayog vice chairperson Suman Bery.
India’s overall SDG score increased to 71 in 2023-24, compared to 66 in 2020-21, supported by significant progress on eliminating poverty, providing decent work, economic growth, climate action and life on land, according to the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2023-24,.
The index shows that out of the 16 goals, India’s overall score is below 50 only on the ‘Goal 5’ (gender equality). According to the report, all states have shown an improvement in overall score. Scores for states ranged from 57 to 79 in 2023-24, significant improvement from 66 in 2020-21 and 57 in 2018 (baseline report).
Between 2018 and 2023-24, Uttar Pradesh was the fastest moving state as it increased its score by 25, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The fourth edition of SDG India Index measured and tracked national progress of all states and UTs on 113 indicators.
The SDGs, constituted through an unprecedented consultative process, have 17 goals and 169 related targets to be achieved by 2030.
