Public Affairs Index 2021

Public Affairs Index 2021- Relevance for UPSC Exam

Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Recently, the Public Affairs Centre (PAC) released the findings of the sixth edition of Public Affairs Index (PAI).

About: Public Affairs Index is an annual report published by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC).
- Public Affairs Centre is a Not-for-Profit Organization (NPO) based in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
PAI 2021 ranks the States and Union Territories on the basis of their performance in the Sub-national governance for the overarching sustainable development pillars of Equity, Growth and Sustainability.
- There are 43 indicators that construct these 3 pillars and they aim to capture all the important human development aspects.
Criteria:
- Public Affairs Index (PAI) measures the governance performance of states in the context of sustainable development defined by equity, growth and sustainability pillars.
Additional Features of PAI 2021:
- Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2021 also features analysis of five Centre-sponsored schemes that aid in key development parameters of health, education and livelihoods. These are-

1. 1. Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,
  2. National Health Mission,
  3. Integrated Child Development Services,
  4. Samagra Siksha Abhiyan, and
  5. Midday Meal Scheme

Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2021 includes a ranking of the states on the basis of their performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- This is in addition to Delta Analysis measuring year-on-year performance and Cluster Analysis of states.

Top performers: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana occupy the top three spots due to their consistent performance across both pillars.
- Two Pillars- COVID-19 Response Index and year-on-year performance and Cluster Analysis of states.
Karnataka dropped three places to be adjudged seventh in the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2021.
MGNAREGA Implementation: Kerala topped in this category. Karnataka was ranked fourth among states.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) Implementation: Goa topped in this category while Karnataka ranked seventh.
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) Implementation: Chhattisgarh topped in this category with a score of 0.907.
National Health Mission (NHM) Implementation: Kerala (1.499) topped in this category.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme: Odisha topped in this category.
Covid-19 response index: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were the top three states in this category. Karnataka ranked fifth.
- This index subsumed preparedness and containment.