India sdg (2023–24): Performance

Udayan Hazarika

(The writer can be reached at udayanhazarika@hotmail.com)

Niti Aayog has recently released the data relating to sustainable development goals in terms of states and union territories for the period 2022–23. This is Ayog’s fourth edition of the SDG data since it started publishing in 2017. The overall performance of 2023–24 shows that India is gradually climbing up the ladder from the score of 60 in 2020 to 66 in 2021 and now 71 in 2023–24, although there is a long way to go to reach the top, i.e., the score of 100.

The scores between 0 and 100 are to be achieved with respect to each goal. Although there are 17 goals, for goal no. 17, i.e., partnership for the goals, data is not available at the state level, and as such, this goal is excluded while calculating the state performances. Similarly, for Goal No. 14, i.e., life below water, only a few states that have coastal regions could participate. Therefore, except for those states, all other states are concerned with only 15 goals. The state scoring 100 in each of the 16/15 goals means that it has achieved the top score. Such a state is called the achiever, although no such state has so far achieved a perfect 100 in all the goals. The average score of all the goals is called the composite score. This is calculated by averaging the scores of all 15 goals. The states that achieve a composite score between 65 and 99 are termed the front-runners. The states whose scores are between 50 and 64 are named performers, and finally, those states whose scores are between 0 and 49 are called aspirants. 

India is at present in the rank of frontrunner. Its composite score is 72 in 15 goals (two goals, namely goal 14 and goal 17, have been excluded). India has achieved the highest score in goal No. 7, i.e., affordable and clean energy, with 96; goal No. 6, clean water and sanitation, with 89; goal No. 11, sustainable cities and communities, with 83; goal 12: responsible consumption and production, with 78; goal 3: good health and wellbeing, with 77; and goal 15: life on land, with a score of 75 points. Of the 15 goals for which India is accounted for, in the case of 11 goals, India is the frontrunner; in the case of three goals, India is just a performer; and in the case of one goal, India is just an aspirant. For goal 5, i.e., gender equality, India is still in the aspirant stage.

While looking at the performance of the states, it may be noted that scores for the states range from a low of 57 to a high of 79, while for the UTs, the range is between 65 and 77. There is a marginal improvement in the scores from 2020–21, when the lowest score for the state was 52 and the highest was 75. Altogether, 32 states and seven UTs have taken part.

In the States, the highest scorers were Uttarakhand and Kerala. Both states scored 79, while Uttarakhand improved their earlier position by a score of +7, while Kerala improved by +4. There are 18 states that have scored 70 or above. Four states belonging to the Himalayan and NE zones, namely Sikkim (76), Mizoram (72), Manipur (72), and Tripura (71) are within this range. Except for Meghalaya and Nagaland, all other NE states are front-runner states. Assam has a score of 65 and just found a place among the front-runner states. Both Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have a score of 65. There are 5 Union territories that have scores of 70 and above. Chandigarh ranked first with a score of 77, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (74) and Puducherry (74). Delhi has a score of 70. Thus, among the UTs, there is no aspirant category; they all belong to the front-runner category.

Of the 28 states under scrutiny, Assam’s position in terms of SDG score is 23. Undoubtedly, the performance lags far behind that of many top-ranking states. However, there was slight improvement in its position with respect to certain goals, but the overall composite score remained the same as that of the last year (2022–23).

Out of the 15 goals, Assam has performed very badly in the case of four goals. These are Goal No. 2, Goal 4, Goal 5, and Goal 9.  We will briefly examine these four goals one by one. As per Goal 2, the state is to achieve zero hunger. Assam scored 47 on this goal. This goal has a total of 3 components, i.e., sub-goals. Component 2.2 has again been subdivided into 4 subdivisions. Goal 2.1, i.e., the percentage of beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, Assam scored 99.71 in this component. Almost all the states have performed well in this category, while 11 states have scored a perfect 100. In the first component of 2.2, i.e., the percentage of underweight children under five years of age, Assam scored 32.8 and missed the target of 13.3. There are only three states that have reached this target. They are Manipur, Mizoram, and Sikkim. The Indian average of 32.1 is also far away from this target. In the second component of subcomponent 2.2, i.e., the percentage of children under five years of age who are stunted, Assam scored 35.3 as against the target of 23.7. Only five regions could meet this target: Kerala (23.4%), Manipur (23.4%), Sikkim (22.3%), the UT of Andaman (22.5%), and Puducherry (20%). In terms of the percentage of anaemic women aged 15–49, Assam scored 54.2, while the target was less than half (25.2%) of this score. Apart from the State of Nagaland (22.2%), no other state in India could fulfil this target.

In the case of Goal 4, Assam scored only 41, putting the state in fourth place from the bottom. Below Assam, there are only three states, namely Meghalaya and Odisha, with a score of 40, and Bihar, with a score of 32. Kerala scored the highest with 82, followed by Haryana (77) and Himachal Pradesh (77). The north-eastern states of Sikkim (67), Manipur (65) and Mizoram (65) performed well in this goal.

In the case of Goal 5, i.e., gender equality, only three north-eastern states, namely Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim, along with Kerala from the south, have scored 65 and above to reach the front-runner stage. Assam is in the aspirant’s stage with a score of 42. UP (42), Jharkhand (42) and Odisha, with a score of 39, are placed below the state of Assam. India as a whole, with a score of 49 already in the aspirant’s stage.

The Goal-9 is industry, innovation, and infrastructure, where Assam, with a score of 44, is in the aspirant’s stage. Andhra Pradesh, with a score of 49, is still on the aspirant’s list. But Goa has outperformed all the industrial states with a score of 76 to acquire the top position in this goal.