- Tamil Nadu has retained the third rank in the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDG) India Index 2019, released by NITI Aayog.
- TheState’s overall score in 2019 is 67, up from 66 in 2018.
- This time, T.N. will share the third spot with Andhra Pradesh and
- The State saw major improvement in its scores relating to the goals of cleanwater and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, life on land and peace, justice and strong institutions.
- It also witnessed a steep fall in the scores pertaining to zerohunger and reduced inequalities.
Top performer
- Tamil Nadu was the top-performing State in terms of the ‘no poverty’ goal. The indicators used to assess performance in this area include population below national poverty line, households covered by health scheme/insurance and benefices of social protection under maternity, among others.
- The State’s score on the ‘zero huger’ goal dropped to 48 from 61. Under thegoal, in terms of the annual production of rice, wheat, coarse cereals (Kg/Ha) indicator, the State dropped to 2,598.00 in 2019 from 3,788.49 in
- Tamil Nadu, along with Kerala and Maharashtra, had achieved the goal relating to maternal mortality ratio (MMR). The State’sMMR stood at 63, as against the target to reduce it to 70 per 1,00,000 live births by 2030.
- In 2018-19, Tamil Nadu did not register any progress underthe Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, which aims to provide access to all-weather roads to all eligible unconnected habitations in the country — one of the yardsticks under the ‘industry, innovation and infrastructure’