ITANAGAR, 26 Jul: “Arunachal Pradesh is ranked 18 out of 28 states in the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) with a MPI score of 0.108, headcount ratio of 24.39 percent and intensity of poverty at 44.22 percent,” informed NITI Aayog adviser Sanyukta Samaddar on the first day of a two-day webinar on ‘Sustainable development goals India index and multidimensional poverty index’ which began here on Monday.
The workshop is being organized by the state’s finance, planning & investment department, in collaboration with the NITI Aayog.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein chaired the workshop, which was attended by the chief secretary, principal secretaries, commissioners, secretaries and special secretaries of the state government, besides the deputy commissioners and district heads of departments.
Presenting the details of the Sustainable Development Goal India Index & Dashboard 2020-21, Samaddar informed that Arunachal’s composite score has improved from 53 to 60 during last year. She, however, added that the state needs to improve its overall ranking further to be at par with the national average.
She highlighted that “implementation of sustainable development goals is not due to the international requirement but the country’s commitment to the world. Hence, every state government is committed to align their development agenda with these goals.”
Mein emphasized on “improving the performance of schemes under important sectors like health, education, drinking water, rural connectivity, etc.” He spoke about the problems faced by the people living in remote border areas, and solicited the NITI Aayog’s intervention in developing the border areas.
He expressed appreciation for the important role being played by the NITI Aayog in helping the states in implementing and monitoring the sustainable development goals, and assured of all cooperation from the state government in achieving the goals in a time-bound manner.
Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar expressed concern over the shortcomings in the implementation of certain schemes, and called upon the departments concerned to “improve the last mile delivery and provide latest and precise data, so that the same is reflected in the MIS portals of the ministries concerned.”
He requested the NITI Aayog to “handhold the state government for 100 days in identifying the actionable points for improving the state’s ranking.” He also suggested drawing up a three-year action plan for improving the implementation of various schemes, so that the state’s ranking can come up at least to the level of the national average.
Planning & Investment Commissioner Prasant Lokhande informed that in many cases, due to non-submission of correct data, the performance of the state is adversely reflected, which should be avoided.
“The departments concerned must ensure that accurate and consistent data are provided at all levels,” he said, and called upon the departments to verify the data being provided by them to the ministries concerned.
He further urged all the departments to concentrate on proper and timely implementation of schemes. (DIPRO)
