KOCHI: The Economic Survey presented in Parliament on Monday said Kerala topped the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) index in 2020-21. However, in conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development, Kerala was ranked sixth among the nine coastal states where Odisha topped the chart.
“Kerala and Chandigarh were the top state and UT (union territory) respectively on SDG performance in 2020-21,” the Survey said, adding Kerala with a score of 75 retained its top rank amongst states in 2020-21.
As far as SDG 14 (life below water or conservation of oceans, seas and marine resources) is concerned, the Economic Survey said Odisha (82 points) and Andhra Pradesh (79) are front runners, followed by six performers - Karnataka (60), Gujarat (57), Maharashtra (57), Kerala (53), Goa (50) and West Bengal (50). Tamil Nadu is an ‘aspirant’, and has the lowest score on SDG 14 amongst coastal states at 11.
The Economic Survey said Kerala also topped life expectancy among the states. Life expectancy varies widely across states; ranging from the lowest of 65.2 years in Chhattisgarh to the highest at 75.3 years in Kerala and Delhi, it said. “It is higher in urban areas (72.6 years) than in rural areas (68.0 years). The increase from 2013-17 is higher for rural (of 0.3 years) than the increase in urban areas (0.2 years), the Economic Survey said.