The Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) along with Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative released the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts of India as mandated by the EAC-PM.
Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Goa stand out as the best-performing States in the index. The top three performing districts are Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Solan in Himachal Pradesh, and Aizawl in Mizoram.
Puducherry has the highest SPI score of 65.99 in the country, attributable to its remarkable performance across components like Personal Freedom and Choice, Shelter, and Water and Sanitation. Lakshadweep scored 65.89 and Goa closely follow with 65.53. Jharkhand and Bihar scored the lowest.
For the dimension of Basic Human Needs, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh are the top four States with the best performance in Water and Sanitation and Shelter as compared to the other States and Union Territories. Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Goa have emerged as the best-performing States for the Foundations of Wellbeing.
The index assesses States and districts based on 12 components across three critical dimensions of social progress – Basic Human Needs, Foundations of well-being, and Opportunity.
The index uses an extensive framework comprising 89 indicators at the State level and 49 at the district level. The EAC-PM said, SPI is a comprehensive tool that can serve as a holistic measure of a country’s social progress at the national and sub-national levels.