SDG INDIA INDEX 2023-24 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2/3 – Governance/Economy)

Context: India has improved its overall SDG score in the last two years, but progress on addressing inequality has stagnated, according to the SDG India Index 2023-24 by NITI Aayog.

SDG India Index 2023-24

• About: It is fourth edition, serves as India’s primary tool for assessing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Released by: NITI Aayog, the Index was launched in collaboration with UNDP, emphasizing its comprehensive national and subnational coverage.
• Measurement Framework: The Index tracks progress across India's States and Union Territories (UTs) on 113 indicators aligned with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s National Indicator Framework (NIF).
• Composite Scores: Ranging from 0 to 100, aggregate goal-wise scores to provide an overall performance assessment for each State and UT.
• Significance of Scores: A score of 100 indicates that a State/UT has achieved all SDG targets, with higher scores reflecting greater progress towards these goals.

Key Findings

• Improvement: Most states in the country showed improvement in their overall scores since the last assessment in 2021-22.
• Top Performing States: West Bengal achieved the most significant improvement, alongside Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur, each improving by 8 points.
• Joint Top Spots: Uttarakhand improved rapidly to share the top spot with Kerala, each scoring 79.
• Lowest Ranking States: Bihar was ranked at the bottom with a score of 57, followed by Jharkhand in the second-last spot.
• Best Performing Parameters Nationally

o India scored highest in ‘affordable and clean energy’ with a score of 96, followed by ‘clean water and sanitation’ at 89, and ‘sustainable cities’ at 83.

o The country made the fastest progress in ‘climate action’ with a 13-point improvement, and ‘no poverty’ with a 12-point improvement.

o India scored lowest in ‘gender equality’ with a score of 49, only a 1-point improvement in two years.

o The score for ‘reduced inequality’ declined from 67 to 65, marking the only parameter with worsening performance.

• Struggles of Northeastern States: Several northeastern states, including Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam, struggled with low scores.