Punjab and Haryana Shine in Niti Aayog's Sustainable Development Index

The government think tank Niti Aayog has released its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) India Index for 2023-24, showing how different states are doing in working towards important goals for the country's future. The report brings good news for some northern states, especially Punjab and Haryana. 

Northern States' Strong Performance 

Punjab has done very well, coming in fifth place among all states with a score of 76. Haryana also showed good progress, ranking 13th with a score of 72. Their neighbor, Himachal Pradesh, did even better, taking the fourth spot with a score of 77. 

Top Performers and Overall Improvement 

Uttarakhand and Kerala are the best performers in the country, both scoring 79 points and sharing the top position. Tamil Nadu and Goa follow closely behind in second and third places. The report shows that India as a whole is doing better in working towards these goals. The country's overall SDG score has gone up from 66 in 2020-21 to 71 in 2023-24. 

Areas of Progress and Challenges 

India has made big steps forward in some important areas. These include reducing poverty, creating better jobs, growing the economy, taking action on climate change, and protecting nature. However, some states are still struggling. Bihar, Jharkhand, and Nagaland are at the bottom of the list, showing that there's still work to be done in these places. 

Union Territories and Future Outlook

Among the union territories, Chandigarh did very well, scoring 77 points. Jammu and Kashmir also performed strongly with 74 points. Niti Aayog's CEO, BVR Subrahmanyam, said that the government's focused efforts have helped India make big improvements across 16 different goals. He believes that India is not only on track but ahead of others in reaching most of these targets. The government is even hopeful about achieving some goals before the 2030 deadline.

The SDG Index looks at many different areas of life and development. These include things like reducing poverty and hunger, improving health and education, promoting gender equality, ensuring clean water and energy, creating good jobs, building better cities, and using resources responsibly.