Nagaland’s SDG Index: Economic growth climbs but development still lags behind

July 22, 2024 11 Views No Comment

Moa Jamir
Dimapur | July 22

Nagaland’s decent economic growth in recent years appears to be not ‘trickling down,’ resulting in uneven progress and development, as reflected in the latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index.

The SDG Index 2023-24, released recently by NITI Aayog, indicated remarkable progress in ‘Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth,’ nearly doubling from a score of 48 in 2020-21 to 76 in 2023-24.

The growth index has been on an upward trend since 2019-20, and the latest score of 76 puts Nagaland in the top ten among the states, 10 points above the national average of 68.

Though comparatively low, Nagaland also saw improvement in economic-oriented targets such as ‘Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’ and ‘Goal 10: Reduced Inequality’ in 2023-24.

Digging deeper into Goal 8, the 2023-24 score improved over 2020-21 with parameters such as the annual growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (constant prices) per capita (%) increasing from 5.93 to 8.58; the unemployment rate falling from 18.50% to 4.60%; and the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increasing from 47.80% to 74.40%. Households with any usual member having a bank/post office account stood at 91.70%.

However, regular wage/salaried employees in the non-agriculture sector without social security benefits fell from 17.10% to 11.90% under Goal 8, indicating uneven progress.

Functioning branches of commercial banks and ATMs per 100,000 population and women account holders in Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana also saw only marginal increases.

Poverty & hunger remain
Despite these advances, Nagaland’s struggle with key developmental goals was evident with scores for ‘Goal 1: No Poverty’ and ‘Goal 2: Zero Hunger’ fluctuating over the years and showing a decline in 2023-24 compared to previous editions.

Specifically, the score for No Poverty decreased from 73 in 2020-21 to 63 in 2023-24, while the score for Zero Hunger declined from 64 to 60 during the same period.

In Goal 1, despite a fall in Multidimensional Poverty (MPI) in 2023-24, it remained high at 15.43% in Nagaland, while households covered by health schemes/insurance were still low at 22%. The score was dragged down by low beneficiaries under PMMVY, which stood at 36.20% in 2023-24 compared to 91.30% in 2020-21.

Additionally, households living in kachha houses increased from 0.70% to 8% during the same period.

It remains to be seen how much the State’s ranking in Goal 1 will improve once the impact of the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS), launched in October 2022 and covering all households in Nagaland, is reflected in the National Family Health Survey.

In ‘Goal 2: Zero Hunger,’ beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 increased slightly to 94.99% in 2023-24 from 94.65% in 2020-21.

On a positive note, Nagaland (22.2%) and Lakshadweep (20.9%) are the only states or union territories to achieve the national target of reducing the incidence of anaemia among pregnant women aged 15-49 years (SDG 3).

However, there was a fall in rice and wheat production per unit area and gross value added (GVA) in agriculture. Women (15-49 years) with a Body Mass Index below 18.5% were 11.10% in Nagaland, while children under 5 years who are underweight or stunted increased.

In ‘Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production,’ which has both economic and environmental connotations, Nagaland’s score has been decreasing since 2018 and ranked in the bottom four in 2023-24.

Overall, the economic scenario highlights the need for inclusive economic policies that ensure equitable distribution of economic gains, improve job quality, address rising living costs, and strengthen social safety nets to combat poverty and hunger effectively.

Looking ahead, Nagaland may see a higher score in ‘Goal 10: Reduced Inequality’ in future rankings, with seats held by women in local self-government as a key parameter with civic polls scheduled for 2024 after two decades.

With an overall increase in the SDG Index from 61 in 2020-21 to 63 in 2023-24, and improvements in ‘Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being’ and ‘Goal 4: Quality Education,’ Nagaland needs to maintain momentum in key goals to improve its ranking in the future.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/nagalands-sdg-index-economic-growth-climbs-but-development-still-lags-behind