BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has made impressive improvement in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2019 and has been placed among the top three performing States on various parameters in Niti Aayog report on SDG Index released on Monday.
Odisha has jumped from 23rd to 15th position in performance category by Niti Aayog while its score has improved from 51 to 58.
The other big performers are Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015 as a part of the resolution, ‘Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.
The NITI Aayog has been assigned the role of overseeing implementation of SDGs in the country.
Odisha stands second in overall improvement, with an increase of 7 points, from 51 to 58. Goal 9 has contributed mostly to the rise with a jump of 40 points.
Goals 6 and 7 follow, with an increase of 39 and 27 points, respectively. With 72 points in SDG 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure- Odisha is behind Gujarat, Bihar and Haryana.
Similarly, in SDG-6, clean water and sanitation Odisha has scored 85 points and stands at 12. In SDG-7 which is, affordable and clean energy, the State has got 50 points behind all the big States. In this SDG, Odisha’s point has improved by 27 points.
While all but five States/UTs improved or retained their overall composite score from 2018 to 2019, the magnitude of change has been varied. According to the report, Uttar Pradesh has improved its overall score from 42 in 2018 to 55 in 2019, and is the highest gainer.
The biggest improvement has been in goal 7 - affordable and clean energy, where the jump has been by 40 points.
Sikkim is the third-best State in overall improvement: from a score of 58 to that of 65, indicating an increase by 7 points.
The significant improvement in goal 6 is largely driven by the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in eliminating open defecation. Improvement in goal 7 can be credited to the extensive coverage of LPG for households and saturation of electricity connections.
The progress recorded under goal 9 can be largely attributed to the improvement in rural road coverage, and higher mobile and internet penetration.
India’s composite score also improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019. The maximum gains were made in Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and 7 (affordable and clean energy).
This is the second report released by Niti Aayog documenting the progress made by Indian States in achieving the SDG targets set for 2030.
Sustainable Development Goals
Ranked 15th in performance category with a score of 58
Second in overall improvement with an increase of 7 points, from 51 to 58
Fourth in SDG 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure with 72 points
85 points in clean water and sanitation stands at 12 place
Odisha behind all big States in affordable and clean energy