AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh ranks among the top three states in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) ranking in the country. While the state stood third in SDG over all ranking, it has emerged as the leader in clean energy sector in the country.
Niti Aayog released the list of the latest rankings for 2020-21 in New Delhi on Thursday. AP improved its score by five points to snatch 72 points to be among the top players in the country.
Niti Aayog vice-chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar while releasing the third edition of the SDG India Index and dashboard said that the index has been comprehensively documenting and ranking the progress made by states and union territories towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
He said that the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in the country and has simultaneously fostered competition among states and Union Territories.
Designed and developed by NITI Aayog, the preparation of the index followed extensive consultations with the primary stakeholders – the states and Union Territories, the UN agencies led by United Nations in India, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), and the key Union ministries.
While Kerala is the top performer with 75 points, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu followed with 74 points each. Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Uttarakhand stood third with 72 points each.
Interestingly, no state has secured perfect 100 points to get the achiever title. However, AP is one of the few states which got front runner title with a score between 65-99. About 13 states remained in performer category with a score below 64 and above 50.
Andhra Pradesh scored 81 points in poverty alleviation which is first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It improved nearly 21 points from the 60 in the previous ranking index. It is significant to snatch so many points when the state’s finances were severely hit by Covid-19. “The sustained focus on welfare of the poor helped the state beat all odds in the poverty alleviation. It is not an ordinary achievement in the given situation,” said an economics professor at Acharya Nagarjuna University.
AP also improved its tally in SDG-2 which targeted to make zero hunger in the state. The state’s score has jumped to 52 points from previous 47. AP’s tally in health sector also improved from 74 to 77. The state stood seventh in the good health and well-being index of the people.
Niti Aayog released the list of the latest rankings for 2020-21 in New Delhi on Thursday. AP improved its score by five points to snatch 72 points to be among the top players in the country.
