Assam is aspiring to be among the top five states of the country but the latest set of indices on development governance has held up the mirror to the state government. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) released by the Bengaluru-based Public Affairs Centre (PAC) that indicates the status of development governance in states and union territories, can help the state prioritise the goals based on its rankings. Assam has ranked 13 among 18 large states in the pillar of equity of the index that, PAC says, analyses inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework. Gujarat has topped the list followed by Kerala and Rajasthan while Uttar Pradesh is placed at the bottom. In the growth pillar which measures the access to, and availability and optimal utilization of human resources, infrastructure and budgetary allocations, Assam is placed at rank 14 with Telangana, Kerala and Jharkhand being the top performers and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar being the bottom performers. PAI 2021 shows that Assam has performed moderately and is ranked 11 among 18 large states in the pillar of sustainability that analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on the environment, economy, and humankind. The PAC uses only Central Government data to look at governance from a sustainable development perspective in the three pillars of equity, growth, and sustainability, five themes – voice and accountability, government effectiveness, rule of law, regulatory quality and control of corruption – 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 43 development indicators mapped to these SDGs. It is noteworthy to mention that reconciliation between states and the Central Government in respect of certain data related to development governance remains a grey area. States often express reservations over the reliability of a certain set of data compiled by the Central Government departments and agencies using small sample sizes as compared to large sample sizes of under Census operations. Such differences notwithstanding, PAI 2021 being a data-driven tool can help the State Government to take a closer look at various indicators to evaluate if Assam is on course towards reaching the targeted development goals. The state has witnessed increased public spending in the health sector in recent periods which gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PAI 2021 has, however, clubbed Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur as the bottom three performers among 10 special category states with 90:10 funding pattern in respect of National Health Mission, the top three performers in the category being Sikkim, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh. In respect of Samagra Sikhsa Abhiyan, Assam figures among the top three performers which is a pointer of achievement in the education sector but the state figuring among bottom three in implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes indicates that the state has failed to capitalise on the scheme to generate rural employment through asset creation in villages when employment avenues have shrunk. The PAI 2021 provides the states with a development lens with a wide angle to draw parallel with the progress made in other states so that the assessment of the performance of a state is not limited to comparison with its performance in previous years. The North East Region SDG Index released recently by the NITI Aayog too painted a grim picture of the overall development scenario in the state and revealed that only in respect of five SDGs, districts in Assam have figured among top good performing districts of the region. The aspiration of the state to be among the top five districts will remain unachieved until it equally performs well in respect of ten other SDGs that include Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, etc. Expeditious implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, special focus on MGNERGS, doubling the income of farmers through assured irrigation and procurement of surplus produce with Minimum Support Price, support in livestock rearing and dairy farming, setting up food processing industries, increasing government spending in health and education sectors can add momentum to the pace of development initiatives a generate huge rural livelihoods. It is heartening to note that roads, railways, and air connectivity have got a big boost in the state and the region in the backdrop of India's Act East and Neighbourhood policy. What the state desperately needs now is changing the narrative of Assam and the northeast being a "landlocked region" to "a well-connected region" to motivate people in the region to explore new horizons and to attract investors to the region. Like the NER SDG Index of NITI Aayog, the PAI 2021 can serve as the abacus of development governance for prioritising the task matrix of development schemes and projects by Assam and other states in the region.