Chandigarh tops UT in SDG Index, but slips in Meeting Gender Equality Goals

By: WE Staff | Friday, 4 June 2021

CHANDIGARH emerged as the top Union Territory with 79 points in the SDG India Index 2020–21, which was released on Thursday by Niti Ayog and is developed in collaboration with the United Nations India to track the progress of all states and Union territories (UT) toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Despite coming out on top, data show that Chandigarh has fallen short of the index's goals for industry, innovation, and infrastructure, as well as gender equality.

In the gender equality section, Chhattisgarh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands came out on top among states and UTs, respectively, despite the fact that 14 states and three UTs were labelled as ‘Aspirants' (those with an index scores of less than 50).

According to data, the rate of crimes against women per 1,000 females in Chandigarh was 95.2 and  at least 32.78 per lakh women in Chandigarh reported cruelty/physical violence by their husbands or relatives during the year.

In Chandigarh, the female to male average wage/salary earnings ratio among regular wage/salary employees was 0.36, while the female to male Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) (15-59 years) ratio was 0.35.

The proportion of women in managerial positions (including those on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies) is 274 per 1,000 people, and the percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 years who have their demand for family planning met by modern methods is 72.5 in Chandigarh.

The gender breakdown of operational land holdings (percentage of female-operated operational holdings) was 10.83.

In the list of top UTs, Chandigarh was followed by Delhi, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep (68), Andaman & Nicobar (67), J&K and Ladakh (66), and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (62). Himachal Pradesh was one of the top five performing states, with Haryana also emerging as a top gainer.