Guwahati: The latest SDG India Index 2023-24, the principal tool for measuring national and subnational progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reveals that the Northeast states of India have shown commendable improvement. Assam and Manipur have made the most progress, followed by Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland since 2020-21.
The composite score for India in 2023-24 is 71. Assam and Manipur have each improved by 8 points, Tripura by 6 points, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim by 5 points, Mizoram by 4 points, and Nagaland by 2 points. Meghalaya’s score has increased by 3 points to 63. While Meghalaya and Nagaland remain in the performer category, the other states in the region are in the Front Runner category.
The SDG India Index tracks the progress of all States and Union Territories (UTs) on 113 indicators aligned with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI) National Indicator Framework (NIF). It measures goal-wise scores on 16 SDGs for each State and UT, generating Composite Scores from these to assess aggregate performance.
Between 2018 and 2023-24, the fastest moving States include Uttar Pradesh (increase in score by 25), followed by Jammu & Kashmir (21), Uttarakhand (19), Sikkim (18), Haryana (17), Assam, Tripura, and Punjab (16 each), and Madhya Pradesh and Odisha (15 each).
The report was released by Shri Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, in the presence of Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog; Shri Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India; Dr. Yogesh Suri, Senior Advisor, NITI Aayog; and Ms. Isabelle Tschan Harada, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP.
Key Highlights from the SDG Index:
SDG 1 (No Poverty): Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, and Sikkim are in the Front Runner category, while Meghalaya and Nagaland are in the performer category, and Arunachal Pradesh is in the aspirant category. Arunachal Pradesh has the highest percentage of households (28.6%) living in kachha houses.
SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Sikkim are Front Runners, while Meghalaya and Tripura are performers, and Assam is an aspirant. In Assam, 32.8% of children under five years are underweight, 35.3% are stunted, and 54.2% of women aged 15-40 are anaemic. Mizoram is the best-performing state with only 12.7% of children underweight and the lowest percentage of females (5.3%) with a BMI below 18.5 kg/m².
SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura are Front Runners, while Assam and Nagaland are performers. Assam’s Maternal Mortality Ratio is 195, compared to the national average of 97.
SDG 4 (Quality Education): Manipur, Mizoram, and Sikkim are Front Runners, while Assam is an aspirant. Nagaland has the lowest enrolment ratio in elementary education (80.3%). Manipur has the lowest dropout rate at the secondary level (1.3%).
SDG 5 (Gender Equality): Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim are Front Runners, while Assam and Manipur are aspirants. Nagaland has the highest women participation in household decisions (99.2%). Assam has the lowest Female Labour Force Participation Rate (0.22%).
Other Notable Performances:
- Access to Drinking Water: Assam has the lowest percentage of households with access to safe drinking water (93.17%).
- Groundwater Extraction: Arunachal Pradesh has the best performance with only 0.42% extraction.
- Affordable and Clean Energy: Assam and Mizoram have an index score of 100.
- Unemployment Rate: Tripura is the best performer with an unemployment rate of 1.5%.
- Mobile Network Coverage: Arunachal Pradesh has the least number of villages with 3G/4G coverage (47.9%).
- Road Accidents: Nagaland has the lowest number of deaths due to road accidents (1 person per 100,000 population).
- Sewage Treatment: Several states, including Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, and Nagaland, have no installed sewage treatment capacity.
On climate action, Sikkim is the top performer among the Northeastern states. The report also highlights areas needing improvement, such as the percentage of registered births in Nagaland (73.2%) and the low charge sheeting rate in Manipur (10.4%).
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