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 4.1: The Four Tiers of Sub-National Progress
Sixty-four is a performer. Sixty-five is a front-runner. The labels are the cut-points.
Starting point
NITI’s composite is cut into four categories. Aspirant is 0 to 49. Performer is 50 to 64. Front-runner is 65 to 99. Achiever is 100. The bands are the whole question in one Madhya Pradesh item, and they organise the others. Uttar Pradesh in the 2019-20 index sat in the performer band. By the 2023-24 notes it had moved to front-runner, with 67 points, just over the 65 line. Gujarat’s story in the notes is a move as well: a performer score of 64 in the 2019 baseline, and a front-runner score of 69 later. One Jharkhand item, in its own context, does not treat Gujarat as a front-runner. Follow the edition named in the stem.
In the 2023-24 notes only four states remain in the performer tier: Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Bihar. The mass of states had crossed into front-runner. Achiever, a perfect 100, is a band almost nobody occupies. Do not call a state an achiever because it topped the table with 79.
Learn the four bands and their numbers before the state names.
Place U.P. in 2019-20 as performer.
Place U.P. in 2023-24 as front-runner at 67, a move, not a contradiction.
Remember the late performer list: Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar.
Do not award the achiever label to a state on 79.
Worked example. A state on 64 is a performer. A state on 65 is a front-runner. Uttar Pradesh at 67 has crossed by two points. That is why an older question and a newer note give U.P. different labels. Gujarat at 64 in the baseline is a performer; at 69 it is a front-runner. If a question’s key says Gujarat was not a front-runner, it is using the earlier placement. The band math is what makes both statements intelligible.
Memory hook. 0–49 aspirant, 50–64 performer, 65–99 front-runner, 100 achiever. U.P. moved from performer to front-runner.
Further explanation
Thresholds are policy tools. They create a cliff at 65 that a one-point data revision can throw a state across. A answer can praise the clarity of the four labels and still note the arbitrariness of the cut. The achiever band at 100 is aspirational by construction. Treating it as a forecast that states will hit every target by a named year over-reads the index.
Category and rank are different. Two front-runners can be twenty points apart. The top-five topic is about rank. This one is about the band.
Figure
The four bands
1Aspirant0 to 49.
2Performer50 to 64. U.P. in 2019-20. Four states still here in the 2023-24 notes.
3Front-runner65 to 99. U.P. at 67 in 2023-24.
4Achiever100.
A top rank with a score of 79 is still a front-runner, not an achiever.
Concept
Original notes
Subtopic 4.1: The Four Tiers of Sub-National Progress
To incentivize state administrations, NITI Aayog classifies States and Union Territories into four performance categories based on their aggregate composite score ranging from 0 to 100:
Moderate progress; crossing the median national benchmark.
Front-runner
65 – 99
High attainment; on track to realize 2030 targets.
Achiever
100
Complete realization of all target milestones.
State Transitions: In 2019-20 and 2020-21, Uttar Pradesh was a \"Performer\" (score 60). By 2023-24, Uttar Pradesh advanced to the \"Front Runner\" category with a score of 67. Gujarat was in \"Performer\" in 2019 (score 64) but entered \"Front Runner\" (score 69) from 2020-21 onwards. By 2023-24, 24 states entered the \"Front Runner\" category, leaving only 4 states (Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar) in \"Performer\".
Uttar Pradesh transitioned from Performer to Front Runner in 2023-24 with 67 points.
In 2023-24, only 4 states remained in the Performer tier (Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar).
Topic
Questions
MCQs
Choose one option, then the next question.
Original question
Question 6: According to the Report released by NITI Aayog in December 2019 on 'Sustainable Development Goals India Index 2019-20', Uttar Pradesh is grouped under which of the following categories? [U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2020]
Uttar Pradesh was grouped under the 'Performer' category in 2019-20 and 2020-21 (score 60). In the 2023-24 edition, it moved up to 'Front Runner' with a score of 67.
Original question
Question 10: NITI Aayog has developed a composite index for each state/UT, classifying them into achievers, front-runners, performers, and aspirants. On the basis of this composite index which of the following State is not a Front Runner? [Jharkhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2021]
In the 2019 baseline index, Gujarat was in the 'Performer' category (score 64). In later indices (2020-21 and 2023-24), Gujarat advanced to 'Front Runner' (score 69). Based on the exam question context, Gujarat was the answer.
Original question
Question 12: According to NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2020, how are the different categories of States' performance in Sustainable Development Goals defined on the basis of index score range? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2024]
NITI Aayog defines the score brackets as: Aspirant (0–49), Performer (50–64), Front-runner (65–99), and Achiever (100).
Question 1 of 3
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Short questions
Write the answer, then the next question.
Under which category was Uttar Pradesh placed in SDG Index 2019-20?
Answer. Performer.
Question 1 of 1
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