Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep appear top in Social Progress Index; Jharkhand, Bihar the worst | Popgen Tech

Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Goa emerged as the best performing states on the Social Progress Index (SPI). According to the report on the Social Progress Index for states and districts, published by the Economic Advisory Council-Prime Minister, together with the Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative, Aizawl (Mizoram), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh). ) are the top three best performing districts in the country based on various social parameters.

The report rates states and districts based on 12 components across three important dimensions of social progress—Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Well-Being, and Opportunity. It uses an extensive framework of 89 indicators at the state level and 49 at the district level. Based on the SPI scores, states and districts were ranked under six levels of social progress.

Puducherry has the highest SPI score of 65.99 in the country, due to its remarkable performance across elements such as Personal Freedom and Choice, Shelter, Water and Sanitation. Lakshadweep and Goa followed closely with scores of 65.89 and 65.53, respectively. Jharkhand (43.95) and Bihar (44.47) scored the lowest.

For the Basic Human Needs dimension (Water, Sanitation and Shelter), Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh are the top four performers. Goa has the highest component score for Water and Sanitation, followed by Kerala, which scored highest through the Nutrition and Basic Medical Care component. For Shelter and Personal Security, Chandigarh and Nagaland emerged as the frontrunners, respectively.

Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Goa emerged as the best performing states for Foundations in welfare.

In the dimension for Access to Basic Knowledge component, Punjab has the highest component score of 62.92, while Delhi topped the list for Access to Information and Communication with a score of 71.30. For Health and Wellness, Rajasthan has the highest component score of 73.74. For Environmental Quality, the three main states belong to the northeastern region—Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.

Tamil Nadu achieved the highest component score of 72.00 for the Opportunity dimension. In this dimension, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has the highest component score for Personal Rights, while Sikkim topped the list for Inclusiveness.

Puducherry scored highest for Personal Freedom and Choice and Access to Advanced Education.

While the report claims to be based on robust methodology and thorough research and analysis, EAC-PM chairman Bibek Debroy and member Sanjiv Sanyal said it could have been better. Sanyal was very critical of the indices published by various agencies around the world, some of which were critical of India’s progress in various social parameters.
“I will take the indices with a pinch of salt. Although a start needs to be made, hopefully, the SPI report will remove the anomalies in the next reports,” Sanyal said THE WEEK.

“The methodology for many indexes is garbage,” he said during the official release of the report referring to a large number of indexes on India released in the past. Sanyal even wrote a paper on these indexes and their methodology. “GDP is an incomplete measure of progress, but it is not correct. For efforts such as the Social Progress Index that studies social parameters, the methodology and data analysis can be more robust and reliable,” said Sanyal, according to the official statement.

EAC-PM President Bibek Debroy said, “The report is heavily based on objective data and is primarily a normative/prescriptive exercise. It presents a cross-section of data across states and districts and focuses on looking at various levels of development by grouping states rather than ranking individual states and selected districts.”
Sonalde Desai, professor, NACER, said, “It is an excellent diagnostic tool for state and district administrators to study areas that need improvement.”

Dr. Charan Singh, CEO, EGROW Foundation, commented, “We will have to tie in sociological factors to economic progress because purely economic indicators have failed time and again to capture non-economic issues. The singular focus on GDP is problematic.”

Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary President, Institute for Competitiveness, said, “The Social Progress Index Report is an independent body of work that focused on three pillars of social progress – Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Well-Being and Opportunity. No index has looked at social parameters with such depth and analysis in the Indian context.

The report argues that the GDP alone cannot transform the lives of people around the world which has led to a wave of initiatives trying to address this concern and complete the debate “moving beyond GDP”.

While the GDP was not designed to measure the quality of life, over-reliance on GDP and other economic measures can lead to flawed policy choices that do not respond to the actual needs and demands of the people. Likewise, it also needs to provide access to economic opportunities and skilled human capital, better financial inclusion and transportation and connectivity, the report said.

The report noted that there is a positive and strong relationship between the Social Progress Index and GSDP per capita. On average, states with higher incomes tend to have higher social gains. For example, Goa and Sikkim rank high on social progress, while Bihar ranks the lowest. However, some states and UTs, such as Delhi, have high GSDP per capita but relatively low social progress, and vice versa.

“The relationship between economic development and social progress is not linear. At lower income levels, minor differences in GSDP per capita are associated with significant improvements in social progress.”

According to the report, India has made significant economic progress in the last decade. GDP per capita increased by more than 39.7 percent. However, much still needs to be done to raise living standards and put the country on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Growth alone is not enough. India needs inclusive and sustainable growth.

The report divides the social progress into six levels. Nine states and Union territories belong to Tier-I in Very High Social Progress, namely Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Kerala.

The second level of social progress includes six states and Union territories—Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Nagaland, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. States and UTs achieved high scores across elements such as Personal Safety, Water and Sanitation, Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, and Inclusivity.

Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Manipur have achieved Upper Middle Social Progress status.
Ten states achieved Lower Middle Social Progress status—Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Telangana, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra. Despite performing relatively well in terms of Personal Freedom and Choice and Water and Sanitation, these states have not achieved high levels of social progress in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Access to Information.

Belonging to the category of Low Social Progress, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh have low SPI scores of 49.16, 48.19, and 48.11, respectively. Although states have the lowest scores across the Basic Human Needs dimension, relatively better performance was observed in all Personal Rights and Personal Freedom and Choice components. States can advance social progress by working through elements such as Access to Information and Communication, Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, and Access to Advanced Education.

At the bottom, Tier-VI, categorized as very low social progress, are Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand. Although these states have relatively high scores in terms of Health and Welfare, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusivity, and Personal Rights, the states still have to strengthen elements of social progress such as Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Access to Information and Communication, and The access. Advanced education to achieve great social progress, the report said.