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Sustainable Development Goal Index

Introduction

Sustainable development aims to meet the needs of the present generation without threatening the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It provides a framework which brings together economic, social and environmental consideration. These aspects are interrelated to each other and are necessary for the well-being of society as a whole and an individual.

United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 was adopted by world leaders in the year 2030. The SDGs for 2030 evolved from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015. SDGs have been formulated considering the output from a series of conferences conducted on the crucial status of environmental stability. India played an important role in the formulation of 17 sustainable development goals. In this agenda of sustainable development goals, there are 17 Goals, 169 Targets which contain 306 National Indicators. (United Nations & Niti , 2018)

These 17 goals mentioned by United Nations mainly focus on following parameters: No Poverty: Eradication of poverty from in all its forms. In the last few decades no of peoples living in extreme poverty declined from 36% in 1990 to 10% in 2015. But the recent pandemic is feared to have increased this percentage again. By 2030 UN targets to reduce the poverty completely and ensure to give equal rights to men and women to economic sources. (United Nations, 2018)

The other goals of sustainable development are Zero hunger, good health and well- being, vaccination drive, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, Affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, investment in industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, careful management of water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions and global partnerships. (United Nations, 2018)

Figure 1: SDG India Index Goal

Source: (Aayog)

Aim

The aim of these sustainable development goals is to provide human dignity, regional and global stability, a healthy planet, fare and resilient societies and prosperous economies. Achieving this objective through sustainable development goals will help in bringing together EU countries, within societies and with the rest of the world.

NITI Aayog in India has formed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index Baseline Report in 2018. The SDG India Index shows the parameters on which sustainable development goals will be measured in India, it also gives brief about progress made by Indian state and union territories towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets.

Analysis

India is secondly populous country in the world, it is being widely agreed that India will play a leading role in determining the relative success or failure of SDGs. The Indian government is taking measures for issues like poverty, sustainable growth, health, nutrition, gender equality and quality education to achieve the SDG agenda for 2030.

NITI Aayog has formed SDG India Index for 13 Goals and launched it in December 2018 (SDG Index 1.0). The progress of all Indian states and Union Territories was measured on the basis of 62 National Indicators. This document briefs on achievement of goals set by UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda, 2030 based on three major aspects i.e. social, economic and environmental status. The document helps in evaluating the performance, which is helpful for policymakers, businesses, civil society and public. (United Nations & Niti , 2018)

The second edition of the SDG India index (SDG Index 2.0) was launched which covered all the 17 Goals and 54 targets and launched in December 2019. It indicated the progress of all Indian states and UTs with the help of 100 indicators. It included 68 indicators which are completely aligned with the National Indicator Framework (NIF), 20 refined and 12 from other government sources. (United Nations & Niti , 2019)

The third and current SDG India Index was improved over last one and was launched in March 2021 (SDG Index 3.0). It analysed the progress of all Indian states and UTs based on the framework of 17 SDGs and 169 targets. The analysis of 16 goals is based on the data on indicators while the 17^th goal is qualitative assessment based. The main objective of this index is to calculate composite score for state/UTs based on their overall performance to achieve the goals. To highlight the best practices within States/UTs and identify the data gaps. (United Nations & Niti , 2021)

Multi-stakeholder partnerships will play important role in 2030 agenda for Sustainable development and Sustainable Development Goals. NITI Aayog, union ministries, State governments, UT administrations and Local governments have built up partnerships in many ways to achieve the set target. Initiatives driven by various intra and inter-governmental partnerships are as follows:

National and sub-national consultation
National Indicator Framework
Voluntary national Review
Private sector
Research, Academia and Think Tank
Institutional Structures
State/UT Governments

SDG India Index and Methodology 2020-2021

The methodology was developed in 2019 with the help of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation (MoSPI), Data and Methodology Committee and UN Secretary General.

1)Selection of Indicators:

Relevant indicators to SDG are selected from the National Indicator Framework. NITI Aayog has formed 115 indicators. Data availability of various States/ UTs is checked, it is ensured that the data for at least 50% of States/UTs is available. If the suitable States/UTs data is not available for National Indicators the proxy indicators are used.

2) Consultation with stakeholders:

To finalise the selected indicators, comments from the primary stakeholders, namely States/UTs were received and detailed workshop was conducted with concerned authorities.

3) Summary of Indicators:

Out of total 115 indicators 75 are common to Index 2.0. 76 are completely aligned with NIF, 31 are derived from NIF and 8 indicators are brought in consultation with the ministries.

4) Target Setting:

Target for 74 indicators were adopted from the target set by UN. Target for 28 indicators were set by the Government of India. For 9 indicators target set by International standards were adopted and for indicators with no specified target the average of the top 3 states was adopted.

5) Normalisation of raw indicator values

The normalisation of indicator values was done in standard scale of 0 to 100. For indicators where higher the value means better performance following formula was used.

Where, x = raw data value

min(x) = minimum observed value of the indicator in the dataset

T(x) = target value of the indicator

x’ = normalised value after rescaling

For the indicators where higher value means lower performance the following formula were used.

Where, max(x) = maximum observed value of the indicator in the dataset

6) Computation of State/UT score

The arithmetic mean of normalised values of all indicators under the Goal was calculated. Equal weight was assigned to each indicator. According to the Goal score each State/UTs was classified into four categories.

Where,

= Goal score for State/UT I under SDG j

= Number of non-null indicators for State/UT I under SDG j

= Normalised value for State/UTs i indicator k under SDG j

7) Computation of composite index 3.0 score

The composite score was calculated taking the arithmetic mean of goal score of 16 Goals, where each Goal was assigned equal weightage. States/UTs were again classified into four categories based on their composite score.

Where,

= Composite SDG index score of State/UT i

= Number of goal scores for which State/UT I has non-null data

8) Categorisation of State/UTs

The States/UTs were classified into the four categories based on their distance from the target. The classification is as follow:

§ Achiever- Index score equals to 100

§ Front Runner- Index score between 65 and 99

§ Performer- Index score between 50 and 64

§ Aspirant- score is less than 50

It is observed that, no state is a 100 on all 17 goals. 15 states are front runners and 13 states are in the Performer category. In case of UTs 7 falls in the front runner category.

Figure 2: Methodology of Construction of the Index

(United Nations & Niti , 2021)

Case Study

The composite score for each State/UT for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 was computed by aggregating their performance across the goals by taking the arithmetic mean of individual goal score. Goal- wise performance score of India has increased from 57 in the year 2018 to 60 in the year 2019 and it is 66 in the year 2020. The SDG India Index 3.0 score for the states varies between 52 and 75 and for UTs it varies between 62 and 79. Kerala ranked as the top state with a score of 75 and Chandigarh ranked as top UT with a score of 79.

Table 1: SDG Index Goal Performance of States/UTs

AREA	2018	2019	2020	AREA	2018	2019	2020
Kerala	69	70	75	Chandigarh	70	70	79
Himachal Pradesh	69	69	74	Delhi	61	61	68
Tamil Nadu	64	67	74	Lakshadweep	63	63	68
Andhra Pradesh	66	67	72	Puducherry	66	66	68
Goa	61	65	72	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	61	61	67
Karnataka	64	66	72	Jammu & Kashmir	59	59	66
Uttarakhand	64	64	72	Ladakh	0	0	66
Sikkim	58	65	71	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	63	63	62
Maharashtra	64	64	70	Daman and Diu	61	61	62
Gujarat	64	64	69
Telangana	60	67	69
Mizoram	60	56	68
Punjab	59	62	68
Haryana	56	57	67
Tripura	52	58	65
Manipur	51	60	64
Madhya Pradesh	55	58	62
West Bengal	55	60	62
Chhattisgarh	51	56	61
Nagaland	59	57	61
Odisha	58	58	61
Arunachal Pradesh	59	53	60
Meghalaya	49	54	60
Rajasthan	42	57	60
Uttar Pradesh	52	55	60
Assam	51	55	57
Jharkhand	50	53	56
Bihar	48	50	52

Source: (United Nations & Niti , 2021)

Figure 3: SDG Index Performance of States and UTs in the Year 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Source: (United Nations & Niti , 2021)

Key Issues

1) The data sources used for selected indicators are different for all States/UTs. There is need to bring the uniformity in the data collection methods, statistical methods, sampling methods, definitional issues. There is need of single source data for any given indicator to avoid discrepancies.

2) The progress of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) mapped to SDG targets, but in case of schemes which are totally sponsored by State Government fail to measure the progress. Index 3.0 suggests mapping the progress on the basis of the outcome of the scheme. It suggests replacing scheme-specific indicators with outcome indicators.

3) The latest data should be used for analysing the progress based on indicators. Many latest National level survey reports do not cover all the States/UTs hence large number of states would be left with “Null” value.

Results

Goal	India Results	Goal-wise Top States/UTs	Targets
No Poverty	§ Six national level indicators have been used § 21.92% of the population were living below poverty line in 2011-12 § Index score ranges between 32 and 86 for states and between 61 and 81 for UTs.	Tamil Nadu, Delhi	§ Reduce poverty by at least half the proportion § To ensure equal rights to economic resources, access to basic services, natural resources by 2030
Zero Hunger	§ Demands special attention § Seven national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 19 and 80 for States and between 27 and 97 for UTs	Kerala, Chandigarh	§ End hunger § End all forms of malnutrition § Double the agricultural productivity § Increase investment in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extensive services, technology development
Good Health and Well-being	§ Index score ranges between 59 and 86 for States and between 68 and 90 for UTs	Gujarat, Delhi	§ To reduce global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70% per 1 lakh live births § End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, Water borne diseases § To prevent halve the deaths from road traffic accidents
Quality Education	§ Eleven national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 29 and 80 for States and between 49 and 79 for UTs § The Enrolment Ratio in elementary classes in India is 87.26%	Kerala, Chandigarh	§ To provide complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education § To build educational facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive
Gender Equality	§ Nine national level indicators have been used § Demands special attention § Index score ranges between 25 and 64 for States and between 33 and 68 for UTs	Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands	§ To end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls § To eliminate all forms of violence § Provide equal opportunities and effective participation § Achieve the gender ratio of 950 females per 1000 males
Clean Water and Sanitation	§ 8 national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 54 and 100 for States and 61 and 100 for UTs	Goa, Lakshadweep	§ Give access to safe and affordable drinking water to all § Improve water quality § To protect and restore water related ecosystems § To provide the piped water supply to all population
Affordable and Clean Energy	§ Two national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 50 and 100 for States and between 71 and 100 for UTs	Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh	§ To ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services § To increase the share of renewable energy § To improve the technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy
Decent Work and Economic Growth	§ Nine national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 36 and 78 for States and between 47 and 70 for UTs	Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh	§ To achieve at least 7% GDP growth per annum § Reduce the proportion of unemployed youth § To promote development oriented policies
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure	§ Seven national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 24 and 72 for States and between 23 and 66 for UTs § At the national level almost 98% targeted road connectivity has been covered under PMGSY	Gujarat, Delhi	§ Develop quality, resilient, reliable and sustainable infrastructure § To support domestic technology development
Reduced Inequality	§ Seven national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 41 and 88 for States and between 62 and 100 for UTs	Meghalaya, Chandigarh	§ To empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all § To facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people
Sustainable Cities and Communities	§ Eight national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 47 and 99 for States and between 50 and 95 for UTs	Punjab, Chandigarh	§ To provide access to adequate, safe affordable housing and basic services and slum up gradation § To strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the World’s culture and Natural heritage
Responsible Consumption and Production	§ Seven national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 39 and 91 for States and between 56 and 98 for UTs	Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh	§ To implement 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns § To reduce waste generation
Climate Action	§ Five national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 19 and 70 for States and between 18 and 77 for UTs	Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar Islands	§ To strengthen and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters § To form policies related to climate change
Life Below Water	§ Five national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 11 and 82 for States	Odisha	§ To prevent and reduce the marine pollution § To increase the economic benefits by marine resources § Conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources
Life on Land	§ Six national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 43 and 93 for States and between 27 and 85 for UTs	Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh	§ To ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable of freshwater ecosystems § To increase the financial resources for conservation of bio diversity
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions	§ Eight national level indicators have been used § Index score ranges between 59 and 86 for States and between 46 and 86 for UTs	Uttarakhand, Puducherry	§ To reduce violence and related deaths § End abuse, exploitation, trafficking § To develop effective and accountable institutions at all levels

Recommendations

1) No of National indicator framework for the goals can be increased so that the performance of State/UTs will be analysed more accurately.
2) The performance of State/UTs in achieving goals of zero hunger, gender equality, industry innovation and infrastructure, climate action, life below water and life on land needs special attention.
3) Climate change is the rising issue in all the States/UTs in India. The integrated action plan for climate change and disaster risk management should be formed to minimise the impact on lives. The states, Bihar and Jharkhand and UTs Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry should be given special attention in forming the action plan and mitigation measures.
4) Single methodology and analysis method should be used to collect and analyse the data in the States/UTs which will decrease the discrepancy. More number of surveys should be done to get the latest data on States/UTs.

Conclusion

India played an important role in the formulation of 17 sustainable development goals. Sustainable Development provides a framework which brings together economic, social and environmental consideration. The aim of the SDG is human dignity, regional and global stability, a healthy planet, fare and resilient societies and prosperous economies.

NITI Aayog in partnership with various government institutions is working on achieving the target goal of the year 2030. Partnership growing at the international, national and sub-national levels is beneficial for the progress of SDG. NITI Aayog has come up with initiatives that have succeeded owing to the strength of the partnerships.

Indian States/UTs are working on the raw data required for analysis of goal-wise performance. Partnership at various government tiers will help India to face the challenges and analyse the goal performance more accurately.

Reference

United Nations. (2018). The Sustainable Development Goals Report. Japanese Journal of Health Education and Promotion, 19(1), 77–82. https://doi.org/10.11260/kenkokyoiku.19.77
United Nations & Niti . (2018). INDEX.
United Nations & Niti . (2019). SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019. 181. https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-12/SDG-India-Index-2.0_27-Dec.pdf
United Nations & Niti . (2021). SDG India Index. 48. https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/SDG_3.0_Final_04.03.2021_Web_Spreads.pdf
NITI. SDG India index. SDG India index & Dashboard 2020-21Partnerships in the decade of action. [Online] [Cited: July 21, 2021.] https://sdgindiaindex.niti.gov.in/#/ranking.