Macroeconomics / Sustainable development and inclusive growth
Module 2: Global SDG Index & Sustainable Development Reports
NITI Aayog and the SDG scoreboards, then the ideas under them: limits, the Kuznets curve, the circular economy, and human capital.
TopicPart 1 of 4
Subtopic 2.1: International Benchmarking by SDSN & India's Ranks
Name the edition before you name the rank.
Starting point
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes the global Sustainable Development Report and its SDG Index. It is not a NITI document. NITI’s index ranks states. This one ranks countries. The bank’s ranks for India are a list you should not collapse into one number: 110th in 2016, 116th in 2017, 112th in 2023 out of 166, 109th in 2024, and 99th in 2025, the edition the notes treat as India’s entry into the top 100.
A newer vintage, read for this magazine on 13 October 2026, is the Sustainable Development Report 2026: India is 94th of 169, with a score of 68.33. The same report’s chapter records a gain of 18 places and 9.6 index points since 2015. That 2026 rank does not rewrite the 2016, 2017 or 2023 keys. A question that names the edition wants that edition.
Identify the publisher: SDSN, not NITI, for the global index.
Memorise the keyed ranks: 110 in 2016, 116 in 2017, 112 in 2023.
Add 109 in 2024 and 99 in 2025 from the notes, as the path into the top 100.
Quote 94th of 169 and a score of 68.33 only when you mean the 2026 report, with SDSN as the source.
Never answer a 2016 question with the 2026 rank.
Worked example. Uttarakhand 2024 asks the 2023 report and the key is 112th. The 60th–62nd asks 2016 and the key is 110th. U.P. 2017 asks 2017 and the key is 116th. Three questions, three ranks. The 2026 figure of 94 is what you use in a paragraph that says “as of the latest report I have”, and you name the report so the examiner can see you are not contradicting the older keys.
Memory hook. SDSN global index. 2016: 110. 2017: 116. 2023: 112 of 166. 2025 notes: 99. SDR 2026: 94 of 169, score 68.33.
Further explanation
The SDG Index is a distance-to-target score across many indicators, not a GDP ranking. A country can grow fast and still sit mid-table if hunger, air, or inequality indicators lag. The report itself says rapid progress in large countries such as India has been driven more by socioeconomic goals than by environmental ones. That is the caution: a better rank is not the same as being on track for every goal.
Comparisons across editions are imperfect when indicators and the country set change. The notes still ask for the printed rank of each edition, and that is what the objective paper grades.
Figure
India’s global SDG ranks in the bank, then the 2026 report
2016110th.
2017116th.
2023112th of 166.
2024 and 2025 notes109th, then 99th.
2026 report94th of 169, score 68.33. Plus 18 places since 2015.
2026 rank and score: SDSN Sustainable Development Report 2026, dashboards.sdgindex.org, accessed 13 October 2026.
The report’s rankings chapter records India gaining 18 places and 9.6 index points since 2015. Older exam questions use earlier editions (2016, 2017, 2023) and those ranks are kept in the question bank, not overwritten by this vintage.
Concept
Original notes
Subtopic 2.1: International Benchmarking by SDSN & India's Ranks
The Sustainable Development Report (formerly the SDG Index and Dashboards) is published annually by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). It tracks the distance remaining for each country to realize the 17 SDGs on a standardized scale of 0 to 100.
India's performance across successive editions reflects its ongoing developmental transition:
2016 Report: India ranked 110th out of 149 evaluated nations.
2017 Report: India was placed at the 116th rank out of 157 countries.
2023 Report: India occupied the 112th rank among 166 countries.
2024 Report: India improved to the 109th position among 167 nations.
2025 Report (10th Edition): India registered a composite score of 66.95 (rounded to 67) and reached the 99th rank among 167 nations, breaking into the global top 100 for the first time.
Important points
SDSN publishes the global Sustainable Development Report annually.
India's rank: 110th in 2016, 116th in 2017, 112th in 2023, 109th in 2024, and 99th in 2025.
The 2025 report marks India's entry into the top 100 countries globally.
Topic
Questions
MCQs
Choose one option, then the next question.
Original question
Question 2: As per Sustainable Development Report 2023, what is the rank of India? [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2024]
As per Sustainable Development Report 2023, the rank of India was 112 among 166 countries. It improved to 109 in 2024 and 99th in 2025.
Original question
Question 3: What is India's rank in the 2016 Sustainable Development Goal Index? [60-62nd B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2016]
India was ranked 110th among 149 countries in the 2016 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index.
Original question
Question 4: What is India's rank in the 2017 Sustainable Development Goal Index? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2017]
In the 2017 Sustainable Development Goal Index, India ranked 116th out of 157 countries evaluated.
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