Social Progress Index: Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Goa best performing states; Jharkhand, Bihar worst | Popgen Tech

According to the report, Puducherry had the highest score of 65.99 for its remarkable performance across elements such as personal freedom and choice, shelter, and water and sanitation. Lakshadweep and Goa followed closely with scores of 65.89 and 65.53, respectively.

“Jharkhand and Bihar scored the lowest, 43.95 and 44.47, respectively,” he said.

SPI is a comprehensive tool that can serve as a holistic measure of a country’s social progress at national and sub-national levels. The index rates states and districts based on 12 components across three important dimensions of social progress – Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Well-Being, and Opportunity. The index uses an extensive framework of 89 indicators at the state level and 49 at the district level.

Based on the SPI scores, the states and districts were classified under six levels of social progress which are Very High Social Progress, High Social Progress, Medium Upper Social Progress, Inferential Medium Social Progress, Low Social Progress and Very Low Social Progress.

Releasing the report, EAC-PM President Bibek Debroy said the report is based largely 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 individual rankings of selected states and districts,” he said.

Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of EAC-PM, pointed out, “GDP is an incomplete measure of progress, but it is not correct. Efforts like the Social Progress Index that study social parameters, methodology and data analysis can be more robust and reliable.”

Prof. Sonalde Desai, Professor, NACER praised the report and said, “It is an excellent diagnostic tool for state and district administrators to study areas that need improvement. There is no better compendium than this report, at this time, that offers such a diagnosis. The most interesting part of the report is the diversity among the districts and I would encourage you to compile a list of the heterogeneity among the states.

For the Basic Human Needs dimension, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh are the top four states with the best performance in Water and Sanitation and Shelter as compared to other states and union territories. In addition, Goa has the highest component score for Water and Sanitation, followed by Kerala, which scores 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 Welfare Foundations. In the dimension for Access to Basic Knowledge component, Punjab had 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 had the highest component score of 73.74. For Environmental Quality, the top three states belong to the northeast, namely, 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. It is commendable to witness Puducherry achieving top marks across two components of this dimension, ie, Personal Freedom and Choice and Access to Advanced Education.