Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Goa have emerged as the best-performing states and union territories in the Social Progress Index (SPI). At the same time, Jharkhand and Bihar are in the worst condition. The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) has prepared this report. EAC-PM Chairman Vivek Devroy released the report ‘Social Progress Index: States and Districts of the Country’ on Tuesday.
Best Performing Districts
According to this report, Aizawl (Mizoram), Solan (Himachal Pradesh) and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) have been the three best-performing districts in terms of social progress. This report has been prepared by the Competition Institute and the non-profit organization ‘Social Progress Imperative’. For this, SPI has been made the basis of the scale of measuring the country’s social progress at the national and sub-national levels. According to the official statement, social progress is necessary for sustainable economic growth in the long run. The index complements traditional measures of economic growth and development.
As per the report, Puducherry had the highest SPI score of 65.99 among all the states. Lakshadweep and Goa finished second and third with scores of 65.89 and 65.53, respectively. As per the report, Jharkhand has the lowest SPI score of 43.95. At the same time, the SPI score of Bihar also remained at a low level of 44.47. In this report, 36 states and union territories and 707 districts of the country are judged based on their performance on various parameters of social progress.
| Puducherry | 1 |
| Lakshadweep | 2 |
| Goa | 3 |
| Sikkim | 4 |
| Mizoram | 5 |
| Tamil Nadu | 6 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 7 |
| Chandigarh | 8 |
| Kerala | 9 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 10 |
| Punjab | 11 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 12 |
| Ladakh | 13 |
| Nagaland | 14 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 15 |
| Uttarakhand | 16 |
| Karnataka | 17 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 18 |
| Delhi | 19 |
| Manipur | 20 |
| Haryana | 21 |
| Gujarat | 22 |
| Andra Pradesh | 23 |
| Meghalaya | 24 |
| West Bengal | 25 |
| Telangana | 26 |
| Tripura | 27 |
| Chattisgarh | 28 |
| Maharashtra | 29 |
| Rajasthan Rajasthan | 30 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 31 |
| Odisha | 32 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 33 |
| Assam | 34 |
| A state in Eastern India | 35 |
| Jharkhand | 36 |
The SPI measures the performance of states in three areas of social progress… basic human needs, quality of life and opportunities. In terms of human needs, nutrition and health care, water and sanitation, personal safety and living conditions are assessed in a state or district. In the case of the standard of living, basic knowledge, access to information, communication, health and care and quality of the environment are seen.
In addition, the status of individual rights, personal freedom and choice, inclusion and access to modern education is assessed in terms of opportunities. According to the report, out of 112 districts included in the Aspirational Districts Programme, only 27 districts have scored above the national average in the Social Progress Index. Out of these, only five districts have been able to make it to the ranking of the top 100 districts of the country.
