While India has outperformed itself over the last year on the national index on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the country’s performance globally leaves much to be desired.
At home, the country’s score on the SDG India Index 2020–21 has moved up to 66 in 2020-21 from 60 in 2019, primarily due to noteworthy progress on Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7). Though the country has made steady progress on Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and Gender Equality (SDG 5), but it is far from satisfactory. India has slid back in industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), according to ‘SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21: Partnerships in the Decade of Action’ launched recently by NITI Aayog.
Globally, last year, India slipped two positions from 115 in 2019 to rank at 117 in 2020 out of 166 countries on the SDG Index 2020. In the meantime, neighbouring Bangladesh moved up to 109 in 2020 from 116 in 2019 on the index, which is part of the ‘Sustainable Development Report 2020’ prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). The SDGs are a set of 17 goals and 169 targets laid down by the UN General Assembly in 2015 for making the world a better place by 2030. India was closely involved in laying down the SDGs and is amongst the 193 countries to adopt the SDGs.
In India, the SDG India Index has been developed by NITI Aayog in partnership with UN in India to assess yearly progress made by states and Union Territories on the SDGs in accordance with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) developed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
Releasing the report, Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, pointed out that the SDG India Index is a rare data-driven initiative culminating in a composite index on the SDGs to rank States and Union Territories. The index is undergoing continuous refinement, elaborated Sanyukta Samaddar, Adviser (SDGs), NITI Aayog, at the event.
The SDG Index India 2020-21, which is the third annual edition, covers 16 SDGs on 115 quantitative indicators and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through qualitative assessment. This is an improvement since the first edition in 2018, which covered only 13 SDGs and 62 indicators.
Most of the states have scored better than the last year despite the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic. Mizoram, Haryana and Uttarakhand have made the biggest gains. While Kerala continues to top the ranking, the other four spots have been captured by Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Uttarakhand; Sikkim; and Maharashtra. States like Chhattisgarh, Nagaland and Odisha; Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh; Assam; Jharkhand; and Bihar occupy the bottom five spots.
All are not happy with their rankings. Odisha, which has dropped to 19th rank from 15th spot last year suspects that the report has considered Central Government schemes only and not state schemes like even the internationally acclaimed Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. If true, it is time for NITI Aayog to take note. If not, Odisha needs to pull up its socks.
States will keep moving up and down in the SDG India Index as in any ranking. What is important is to keep on looking deeply into the instances of unusual change in the ranking. There can be broadly two reasons. Either the state is doing something too well or too badly, or the reporting is flawed. If the state is doing something too well or too badly, there are lessons to be learnt by others. If the reporting is flawed, it needs to be rectified by parties generating data and/ or agencies preparing reports.
To begin with, both call for deep localisation of the SDGs at the district and block levels throughout the country. So far, only 19 states have developed vision document, and 18 states have set up SDG cells for developing district and block indicator frameworks and monitoring and evaluation. While 26 states have mapped the SDG targets with schemes and departments, 10 states are linking the SDGs to budgetary allocation. 17 states are building capacity of officials, and 13 states are involving civil society organisations in awareness creation.
Getting all states and Union Territories on the same page on the basics is crucial in enabling full realisation of the scope of NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index, which would go a long way in helping policymakers make better informed decisions.
It is important as Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, has noted in his message to the report: “The SDG India Index & Dashboard is a crucial tool in our SDG monitoring efforts. The insights drawn from this report will greatly benefit policymakers and all stakeholders in sustainable development.”
Saying that SDG India Index and Dashboard is a vital tool in realising SDGs, Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator in India, has aptly emphasised in a message to the report: “It (realising SDGs) requires a significant increase in ambition and investment to break the incremental change cycle, and to bring about the truly transformative change that the SDGs envision.”
The SDG India index captures only the progress on the SDGs. The real change needs to happen in realisation of the SDGs at the ground level. While incremental change is welcome, India needs transformative change to accelerate the rate of progress if India is to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The targets and the deadline are the same nationally and internationally.
Source: The Times of India
Published on 7 June 2021