Chandigarh secured the top spot among UTs in the SDG India index, 2021 released by Niti Aayog in collaboration with United Nations India. This index is used in tracking the progress of all states and Union Territories in the country towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Chandigarh was followed by Delhi (68), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (67), J&K and Ladakh (66), and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (62) in the list of Union Territories.
Despite securing the top position in UTs, Chandigarh has slipped in meeting the index goals of industry, infratructure & innovation, and gender equality.
Chhatisgarh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands emerged as top performers among states and UTs respectively, even as 14 states & UTs were put in ‘aspirant’ category (having less than 50 points). In this category, Chandigarh was able to manage 58 points and was put in ‘Performer’ Category.
The ratio of female to male average wage/salary received among regular waged/salaried employees was 0.36 while the ratio of female to male Labour Force participation rate (LFPR) (15-59 years) was 0.35 in Chandigarh.
The proportion of women in managerial posts – including those on board of directors of listed companies – ( per 1000 persone ) is 274, the percentage of married women aged 15-49 years who have their family planning demands met using modern methods was 72.5 in Chandigarh.
In the goal of Industry and Innovation, Chandigarh was able to manage only 45 points.
Gujarat and Delhi were front-runners in the Industry, innovation and infrastructure category smong the states and UTs respectively. Six states and UTs were deemed ‘Front Runners’ having a score in the range of 65-99. 14 states were put in the ‘Aspirants’ category ( having score less than 50 ).
Seven national-level indicators have been identified by Niti Aayog to measure the country’s progress towards the goals of industry, innovation and infrastructure which capture four out of eight SDG targets for 2030 outlined under this goal by the United Nations.
