(a) whether NITI Aayog has recently released the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index;
(b) If so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the country has made significant progress to meet the targets under the SDGs;
(d) if so, the details of progress made by the Government in meeting the various targets set under the SDGs so far; and
(e) the other steps being taken by the Government to achieve the SDGs within the stipulated timeframe?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)
(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. *43 REGARDING ‘SDG INDIA INDEX’ RAISED BY DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR MP SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR MP FOR ANSWER ON 5th FEBRUARY, 2020.
(a): Yes, Sir. NITI Aayog launched the SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019-20 on 30th December 2019.
(b): The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019-20 measures the progress achieved by all States and Union Territories in their journey towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the associated targets. The Index is constituted of 100 indicators across SDGs 1-16. The report contains a qualitative analysis on SDG 17. The SDG India Index adopts a methodology in which the performance of each State and UT as well as the country as a whole on each SDG is measured on a scale of 0 to 100, 100 implying the achievement of the target and 0 indicating worst performance.
A score of 100 implies that the State/UT has achieved the targets set for 2030; a score of 0 implies that the particular State/UT is at the bottom of the table. States/UTs with scores equal to/greater than 65 are considered as Front-Runners (in Green); as Performers (in Yellow) in the range of 50-64 and as Aspirants (in Red) if the score is less than 50.
The SDG India Index provides critical insights on the country status of SDGs. It is a useful development tool to:
• Support States/UTs to benchmark their progress against the national targets and performance of their peers and devise better strategies to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
• Support States/UTs to identify priority areas as working on all SDG areas at the same time may be challenging. It would help States/UTs to modulate their initiatives and investments as well as to measure incremental progress.
• Highlight data gaps across SDGs and identify areas for building individual and systems capacity for better data management.
The SDG India Index 2019 is available via an online dashboard (http://sdgindiaindex.niti.gov.in/). The report is in the public domain and can be found in https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-12/SDG-India-Index-2.0_27-Dec.pdf
(b) and (d) : India'' overall SDG Score in 2019 stands at 60 on a scale of 0-100, thereby implying that the distance to target remaining to be achieved by 2030 is equivalent to 40 points. Among the States, Kerala scored the first rank with a score of 70. Himachal Pradesh came second with 69. Three States – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana- came in the third spot with a score of 67. Among the UTs, Chandigarh secured the top position with a score of 70 and Puducherry came second with 66. Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli shared the third rank with a score of 63.
(e): All key stakeholders, including NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Ministries/Departments of Central Government are committed towards achieving the SDG targets through multi-pronged initiatives, such as capacity building, awareness generation, implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Central Sector Schemes, and SDG monitoring through the National Indicator Framework and SDG India Index. However, it is the States and Union Territories that are the key drivers for achieving the SDGs within the stipulated time frame. NITI Aayog regularly follows up with the States and UTs and conducts half-yearly reviews of progress with them.
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