(a) Outline any two steps involved by the NITI Aayog index in attaining sustainable development. (b) “Urban areas are ranked on the scale of 0 – 100.” Elucidate the ranking system adopted by the NITI Aayog.

Question

Accepted Answer

(a) Two steps involved by the NITI Aayog index in attaining sustainable development:

1. **Ranking Urban Areas:** The NITI Aayog Index ranks 56 urban areas on 77 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators. This ranking creates competition and accountability among cities to improve their sustainability performance.

2. **Localization of SDGs:** The index works towards localization of Sustainable Development Goals and creating SDG's progress monitoring system at all levels. This ensures that global sustainability goals are translated into actionable local policies.

(b) The ranking system adopted by NITI Aayog ranks urban areas on a scale of 0-100, where:
- Higher scores indicate better performance on SDG indicators
- Cities are evaluated across multiple dimensions of sustainable development
- The ranking helps identify best practices and areas needing improvement
- It promotes healthy competition among cities to achieve sustainability goals