The Public Affairs Index-2020 released by Bengaluru-based think tank Public Affairs Centre found Kerala to top the list in governance among large states, with Goa and Chandigarh taking the top stop among small states and union territories, respectively.
The not-for-profit think tank, headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Kasturirangan, said in the annual report that the states were ranked based on a composite index according to its governance performance in the context of sustainable development.
According to the report, southern states took over the top four positions in the 'large states' category - Kerala at the top (with a score of 1.388 PAI index points), followed by Tamil Nadu (0.912), Andhra Pradesh (0.531) and Karnataka (0.468).
In the 'small states', ranked ranked first with 1.745 points, followed by Meghalaya (0.797) and Himachal Pradesh (0.725), while Chandigarh ranked first within the 'Union Territories' category with 1.05 PAI points, followed by Puducherry (0.52) and Lakshadweep.
Worst Performers
Among the large states, Uttar Pradesh (-0.363), Odisha (-1.158) and Bihar (-1.158) were at the bottom, while Manipur (-0.363), Delhi (-0.289) and Uttarakhand (-0.277) appeared at the bottom among small states.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir (-0.50) and Andaman and Nicobar (-0.30) were the worst performers among union territories.
Commenting on the report, Kasturirangan said, "I would like to emphasise that the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2019 marks an important departure from the past. It constitutes a landmark symbolising a paradigm shift to a data driven and scientifically rigorous approach to assessing the quality and adequacy of public governance at the subnational level in India."
"It is my conviction that it can help states to make evidence-based interventions to make substantive improvements in development outcomes," he added.
The report also looked into and analysed various other aspects of governance such as participation of woman in labour force, meeting of sustainable development goals, assessment of states according to human rights, and impact of welfare and training on the labour market and the impact of various government schemes in different states.
To build the Public Affairs Index, the think tank's flagship project, PAC integrated global indicators from the World Bank and the Sustainable Develpment Goals (SDGs).
PAC integrated the World Governance Indicators from the World Bank and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Only the SDGs where the state has a role to play were strategically chosen.
According to the report, the index 'helps state governments identify gaps in policy implementation and aids them to take action accordingly'.