All the northeastern states have been ranked as “performers” in the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, but most of them have fallen behind the all-India score.

The index, which comprehensively documents the progress made by states and Union Territories towards achieving the 2030 SDG targets, was released on Monday by Niti Aayog.

India is the first country with a government-led, sub-national measure of progress on SDGs. The various goals under the SDG India Index 2019 include no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; sustainable consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong Institutions; and partnerships.

The SDG India Index has been developed in collaboration with the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute.

According to the index, India’s composite score has improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019.

The maximum gains have been made in goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and 7 (affordable and clean energy).

Kerala achieved the first rank in the composite SDG Index with a score of 70, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 69. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Goa, and Sikkim moved up from the “performer” category to the “front runner” category while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, which were in the “aspirant” category, have graduated to the “performer” category.

The rest of the northeastern states have been placed in the “performer” category. But except Manipur, none of the states have been able to cross India’s composite score of 60.

While Manipur’s SDG index score is 60 and is ranked 13th, the score of Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam are 58, 57, 56, and 55, respectively. Meghalaya is ranked 25th with a score of 54 while Arunachal Pradesh is one score behind at 26th.

The SDG India Index 2019 tracks progress of all states and Union Territories on 100 indicators.

The goals represent the aspirations of the global community and also a valiant effort to push the frontiers of development, the document released by Niti Aayog stated.

“It is now universally acknowledged that the SDGs represent an elaborate agenda for the governments, that necessitates achieving progress simultaneously across social, economic and environmental pillars,” it added.