BENGALURU: Karnataka ranked sixth in the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2022 report, which was released on Friday, providing insights based on evidence into the governance of a state. The assessment is done
using data from central government data sources. The states are divided into two categories — large and small — and the assessment is done based on data from the central government. Union Territories are not part of the report. Haryana emerged as the best governed state among 18 large states while Sikkim bagged the top spot among 10 small states.
The Public Affairs Centre (PAC) Director, G Gurucharan, said that the objective of the report is to dispel subjectivity using values, weights and ranks to demonstrate the quality of governance. He explained that in the seventh edition of the Index, a conceptual change was adopted to assess the quality of governance during 2021-22. The indicators used to measure the performance are primarily drawn from the Constitution. PAI 2022 saw a methodological shift to introducing a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach.
Former chairman of PAC, Dr A Ravindra said the political discourse in the country had taken a confrontational turn, especially, in relation to the recent issues of hijab, regarding which views seemed to be divided. He suggested that for the next year, the index should reflect the Centre-State relation and how federalism is working in the country.
Chief guest V Sudhish Pai, a senior advocate, called the Constitution the life of the nation and a vehicle of progress. Comparing India to neighbouring countries, he called India an ‘oasis’ in a desert, adding that the situation in India is much better in terms of socio-political rights.