SDG Urban Index and Dashboard 2021–22

• 24 Nov 2021

On 23 November 2021, NITI Aayog released the inaugural SDG Urban Index and Dashboard 2021–22.

• It is another step of NITI Aayog towards localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and instituting robust SDG progress monitoring systems at the national, State/UT, and local levels.
• The index and dashboard are a result of the NITI Aayog-GIZ and BMZ collaboration focused on driving SDG localization in our cities, under the umbrella of Indo-German Development Cooperation.
• Total 56 urban areas were considered for computation where Shimla topped the Index followed by Coimbatore and Chandigarh.

Why this Index?

To achieve 2030 Agenda

• With one-third of the journey towards achieving the 2030 Agenda behind us, measuring progress on the SDG in urban areas is critical.
• NITI Aayog seeks to empower local administrations to adopt a measurement-based approach to decision making.
• Only if the SDG agenda is adopted by the last mile stakeholders can we hope to achieve the global 2030 Agenda.
• The SDG Urban Index is one more step towards localising the SDGs further.

Benefits

• The index and dashboard will further strengthen SDG localization and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level.
• It highlights the strengths and gaps of ULB-level data, monitoring, and reporting systems.
• Tools such as this index and dashboard will contribute to the creation of an ecosystem in which all stakeholders will be equipped to adopt and implement data-driven decision making.
• This transformative change is quite essential, given the increasing prominence of our cities and urban areas in charting the future of development in India.

Methodology

• The statistical methodology for the SDG Urban Index is drawn from the globally accepted methodology developed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

Indicators

• A comprehensive list of 77 indicators, covering 46 global SDG targets across 15 SDGs, are used in the index.

Exclusion

• SDG 14 (life below water) has not been included as it is relevant for only coastal areas, which are only a few of the selected cities.
• SDG 15: Progress under SDG 15 (life on land) has been measured using two indicators they have not been used in estimating the scores, owing to lack of adequate coverage.
• SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) has been excluded as the progress of its targets are monitored at the national level.

Ranking Scale & Classification of Urban Areas

• The SDG Urban Index and Dashboard ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework.
• For each SDG, the urban areas are ranked on a scale of 0-100.
• A score of 100 implies that the urban area has achieved the targets set for 2030
• A score of 0 implies that it is the farthest from achieving the targets among the selected urban areas.
• Overall or composite urban area scores are then generated from the Goal-wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the urban area.

Urban areas have been classified as below based on their composite score:

• Aspirant: 0–49
• Performer: 50–64
• Front-Runner: 65–99
• Achiever: 100

Score-wise Top & Bottom 10 Urban Areas

Some Major Goal-wise Findings

• Sex Ratio at Birth: 19 out of 56 Urban Areas have a sex ratio at birth greater than or equal to 950.
• Institutional Delivery: At least 9 in 10 births are institutional for 37 out of 56 urban areas.
• Accidental Deaths: 0.26 accidental deaths per 1,00,000 population have occurred due to forces of nature across 44 urban areas in 2019. India value is 0.61 per 1,00,000 population.
• Skill Development Centres: 83.92% of 56 Urban Areas have incubation/skill development centres.
• Skill Training: 13 out of 54 Urban Areas have greater than 50% trainees placed out of total number of people provided skill training.
• Per Capita Hazardous Waste Generation: 20 Kg per capita hazardous waste is generated on an average across 50 urban areas. India value is 8 Kg per capita per year.
• Crime against Senior Citizen: The average rate of crime against senior citizen is 38.2 per 1,00,000 population across 54 urban areas. India value is 26.7 per 1,00,000 population.
• Crime against SCs: Average rate of crime against SCs per 1,00,000 population is 25.69 across 54 urban areas. India value is 22.8 per 1,00,000 population.
• Municipal Solid Waste: 21 out of 56 Urban Areas treat 100% of their generted Municipal solid waste.
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio: 96.4% of 56 Urban Areas have a pupil-teacher ratio at the secondary level of less than 30.
• Clean Cooking Fuel: At least 9 in 10 are using clean cooking fuel in 31 out of 56 Urban Areas.
• Coverage of Health Insurance: 16% of 56 Urban areas have more than 50% households with at least 1 usual member covered by health Insurance/scheme.
• Prevalence of Anaemia: 55 out of 56 urban areas have greater than 25% anaemia prevalence among women aged 15-49 years.
• Sanitation: At least 9 in 10 households have access to improved sanitation facilities in 35 out of 56 urban areas.

Goal-wise Top Performing Urban Areas