New Delhi: With marginal or no improvement on vital parameters like poverty, education and hunger, Odisha has slipped to feature in the bottom five states of the third edition of NITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) India Index 2020-21.
The Index for SDGs evaluates the progress of states and Union Territories on various spheres including social, economic and environmental parameters. Odisha’s score stood at 61 in comparison to its tally of 58 in 2019. However, in spite of gaining three points, the state remained among the bottom five in the list topped by Kerala with 74 points. India’s overall score in the index was 66. Bihar with 52 points was at the bottom of the list.
Odisha was placed in the category of aspirants in goals like ‘No Poverty’, ‘Zero Hunger’, ‘Quality Education’, ‘Gender Equality’, ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. The NITI Aayog’s report revealed that 32.5 per cent of Odisha’s population is living below the poverty line while 47 per cent of pregnant women are anaemic. The report also said at least 29 per cent children in Odisha under the age of five are stunted. The net enrollment ratio in elementary education has been reduced to 71 from 94 in 2019. Odisha’s performance has also dipped in crime against women and providing employment under MGNREGA.
The NITI Aayog report awarded zero points to Odisha in the parameter of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and the unemployment rate of the state stands at 7.6 per cent.
The bright point for Odisha is certain segments where it has emerged frontrunners. These segments are ‘Life Below Water’, ‘Good Health and Well Being’, ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’, ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ and ‘Reduced Inequalities’. In fact in the ‘Life Below Water’ and ‘Climate Action’ segment, Odisha has topped the list.
The report also states that 2.8 per cent of the urban population lives in kutcha houses and 65 per cent of urban households have drainage facilities, which is encouraging.
The report also states that 79 per cent of households in Odisha have LPG or PNG connections. In terms of energy efficiency, Odisha saved the highest amount of CO2 (5.5 MtCO2) followed by Gujarat (4.4 MtCO2) and Uttar Pradesh (2.8 MtCO2).
The top-performing states and UTs are: Kerala (75), Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with (both 74), Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Uttarakhand (all 72), Sikkim (71) and Maharashtra (70). The worst-performing states and UTs include: Chhattisgarh, Nagaland and Odisha (all 61), Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and UP (all 60), Assam (57), Jharkhand (56) and Bihar (52).