Kerala the best-governed state, Bihar the worst: Study
For the third consecutive year, Kerala has emerged as the best governed state among the large ones, the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC) said. Following it are TN, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat in the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018. MP, Jharkhand and Bihar fared the worst. HP topped among smaller states, followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked last.
The PAI assesses states' development based on government data
The PAI was first released in 2016 by the PAC, which was founded in 1994 by reputed economist Late Samuel Paul. PAI assesses states based on data on social and economic development. To derive the index, PAC experts took into account 30 focus subjects with 100 indicators. It uses only government-supplied data, apprehending private sources may be interpreted as "biased."
States divided on the basis of population
States across India were considered across 10 themes, including essential infrastructure, support to human development, social protection and law and order. States were divided into 'large' and 'small' based on their population: those with more than 2cr people are 'large.'
This year, PAI assessed 'child-friendliness' of states separately
This time, the PAI had a separate index on children, assessing how 'children-friendly' states are. Kerala, HP and Mizoram topped this index. "Children growing up in poverty cannot be blamed. It's the state's responsibility to ensure they're provided with opportunities for a better living," said Shantha Sinha, former chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
