NITI Aayog releases 4th edition of state health index; UP shows maximum annual incremental performance among ‘larger states’

New Delhi: The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on Monday released the fourth edition of “The Healthy States, Progressive India” ranking States based on the progress on health outcomes and health systems performance across the country.

Among the ‘Larger States’, in terms of annual incremental performance, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Telangana are the top three ranking states. Among, ‘Smaller States’, Mizoram and Meghalaya registered the maximum annual incremental progress. Among UTs, Delhi, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, showed the best incremental performance.

On overall ranking based on the composite index score in 2019-20, the top-ranking states were Kerala and Tamil Nadu among the ‘Larger States’, Mizoram and Tripura among the ‘Smaller States’, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Chandigarh among the UTs.

The State Health Index is an annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs. It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’. Each domain has been assigned weights based on its importance with higher scores for outcome indicators.

The report was released jointly by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant, Additional Secretary Dr Rakesh Sarwal, and World Bank Senior Health Specialist Sheena Chhabra. The report has been developed by NITI Aayog, with technical assistance from the World Bank, and in close consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).