NITI Aayog launches inaugural SDG Urban Index & Dashboard 2021-22

The SDG Urban Index and Dashboard ranks 56 urban areason 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework.

In its journey towards localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and instituting robust SDG progress monitoring systems at the national, State/UT, and local levels, NITI Aayog has achieved yet another milestone with the launch of the inaugural SDG Urban Index & Dashboard (2021-22) today. 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.

The SDG Urban Index and Dashboard rank 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework. The data on these indicators have been sourced from official data sources such as NFHS, NCRB, U-DISE, data portals of various ministries, and other government data sources.

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.

Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, Government of India and Prof Dr Claudia Warning, Director General, BMZ, Government of Germany launched the index and dashboard in the presence of Mr Philipp Knill, Head of South Asia Division BMZ; Dr Julie Reviere, Country Director, GIZ India;Mr Georg Jahnsen, Head of Sustainable Development of Smart Cities Project, GIZ India;MsSanyuktaSamaddar, Adviser (SDG), NITI Aayog, and other senior officials from the two sides.

“Cities are fast becoming engines of growth. The SDG Urban index and dashboard, a product of innovative partnership between NITI Aayog and GIZ, will go a long way in instituting a robust SDG monitoring system in our cities, and is a milestone step in our SDG localisation journey,” Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog said during the launch.

With one-third of the journey towards achieving the 2030 Agenda behind us, measuring progress on the SDG in urban areas is critical. On this theme, Sanyukta Samaddar, Nodal Officer (SDG), said that 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.”

On the Indo-German Partnership on Sustainable Development Goals, Prof. Dr. Claudia Warning, DG BMZ said that it will, “focus on deepening SDG localisation and monitoring, and addressing critical gaps in institutional capacity and data systems on SDGs at national and state levels. We look forward to strengthening this partnership with NITI Aayog in building capacities on SDGs.”

(With Inputs from PIB)