Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In terms of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Assam has turned from an aspiring state to a performer and fast-moving state in the last five years. When the SDG India index was declared in 2018, Assam was ranked 49. In the latest index released by Niti Aayog in 2023, Assam’s rank had jumped to 65.
This was stated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma before the media today. In the next two years, the target is to cross the national level of 71 in terms of SDGs. The growth in rankings of SDGs depends on several factors, and reduction in poverty was a prime factor, as Assam has lowered the poverty level from 36 to 19. The Orunudoi scheme played a major role in this development, the CM said.
The SDG index has 17 goals on which the growth of a state depends. Of this, reduction in poverty, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water, clean energy, economic growth, climate action, and a peaceful society are a few major goals.
The CM also said, “We have become a front-runner among performing states. We have given importance to gender equality. In terms of education for girls, we have taken up several initiatives. We have also taken steps to curb child marriages in the state. To develop clean energy, we have given thrust to solar energy. Jal Jeevan Mission is playing an important role in providing clean water to the people.” He further said that Assam had been lagging in higher education, but now we have bridged the gap. Free admission to colleges for underprivileged students has played an important role in bringing up the level of enrolment in higher education, he added.
In the report on the SDG index released by Niti Aayog, Assam and ten other states have been praised for turning into fast-moving states. In 2018, Assam was an aspirant state. Since then, the state has developed into a performer state, which was not easy to achieve considering the fact that two years were lost during the COVID pandemic, the CM maintained.
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