What is Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022? Know for UPSC

What is Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022?: Social Progress Index (SPI) is a comprehensive tool that can serve as a holistic measure of a country’s social progress at the national and sub-national levels. It is primarily important for UPSC CSE Prelims 2023.

Why Social Progress Index (SPI) in News?

• Recently, the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) along with Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative released the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts of India as mandated by the EAC-PM.
• The Institute for Competitiveness released the annual 2022 Social Progress Index (SPI) which was published by Social Progress Imperative.
• India secured a global rank of 110 with score of 60.19 in Tier 4 countries.

Performance Grading Index for Districts

Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022

Where India Stands?

• The Social Progress Index 2022 report shows that India is currently ranked 110th (among 169 countries) in the world on the Social Progress Index, scoring 60.19/100, in the fourth tier of performance.
• The country’s aggregate Social Progress Index score in 2022 is slightly lower than the world average of 65.24.

Where States and UTs Stand?

• Most of the Union territories including Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have ranked higher on India’s Social Progress Index 2022 list.
• While Puducherry topped the chart, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest on the list.
• Jammu and Kashmir took a major step up, bagging the tenth spot.

Who Topped the SPI at Global Level?

• The index is topped by Norway with a score of 90.74 in Tier-1 countries i.e. high income countries.
• Among Tier 2 countries, Spain topped with a score of 85.35, and global rank of 21st.
• Among Tier 3 countries, Russia topped with a score of 71.99, and global rank of 59th.
• In Tier 4, Ghana is on top with a score of 64.80 at 98th while Tier 5 is topped by Côte d’Ivoire with 54.01, and 127th rank; and Tier 6 Niger tops at 159th global rank with a score of 43.14.

State-wise List of Toppers of Social Progress Index 2022 

• The researchers used 89 indicators to assess the progress of each state.
• These indicators were included under categories – Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Access to Basic Knowledge, Personal Rights Water and Sanitation, Access to Information & Communication, Personal Freedom & Choice, Shelter, Health & Wellness, Access to advanced Education, Personal Safety, and Environmental Quality.
• The states and union territories (UTs) have been categorised into six tiers. Here’s what the six tiers mean and which states fall under those tiers:

• These states and UTs performed “remarkably well” across components like Water and Sanitation, Shelter, Personal Safety, Personal Freedom, and Choice, consequently scoring well across the dimension of Basic Human Needs.
• The states can work on strengthening the dimension of the Foundations of Wellbeing.

• These states and UTs attained high scores across indicators like Personal Safety, Water and Sanitation, Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, and Inclusiveness.

• These states performed well across dimensions of Basic Human Needs and Opportunity, with the highest score for components like Personal Freedom and Choice, Water and Sanitation, and Inclusiveness.

• These states/UTs performed “relatively well” in terms of Personal Freedom and Choice and Water and Sanitation.
• However, they didn’t achieve high levels of social progress in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Access to Information and Communication, and Access to Advanced Education.

• These states scored the lowest across the dimension of Basic Human Needs and fared relatively better across components of Personal Rights and Personal Freedom and Choice has been observed.
• The states can advance their social progress by working across components like Access to Information and Communication, Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, and Access to Advanced Education.

• These states scored relatively high in terms of Health and Wellness, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusiveness, and Personal Rights.
• But, they still must “strengthen components of social progress like Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Access to Information and Communication, and Access to Advanced Education to achieve high social progress.”

District Wise Top Rankings under SPI 2022

• Aizawl (Mizoram) attained the highest SPI score of 72.90 in the country, with five more districts of Mizoram belonging to this tier, namely Lungei (69.80), Champhai (67.93), Serchhip (67.77), Saiha (65.79) and Mamit (64.84).
• Over 69 percent of Uttarakhand’s districts witnessed Very High Social Progress, whereas 30 percent of Arunachal Pradesh’s districts fall into this category.
• Nagpur is the only district in Maharashtra that has achieved Very High Social Progress.

The Editorial Analysis- Measuring Progress

FAQs on Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022

Q. Who releases Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022?

Ans. Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) along with Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative released the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts of India as mandated by the EAC-PM.

Q. What is Social Progress Index (SPI) 2022?

Ans. SPI is the first holistic tool that is designed to measure social progress independent of GDP. The index assesses states and districts based on 12 components across three critical dimensions of social progress – Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity.

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