Kerala-The Best Governed State, Where does Maharashtra Rank ?

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Kerala is the best governed state in the country, according to a survey released by Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru.  Kerala continues to top for three years in a row, followed by Tamil Nadu says the Public Affairs Index 2018.  Telangana ranks third in 2018. Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha ranked the lowest on the index.

Among smaller states (population less than two crore )– Himachal Pradesh topped the list of states with good governance, followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. Meghalaya performed the worst in this list followed by Manipur, Nagaland and Delhi.

1. Essential Infrastructure : 

Goa, Kerala and Delhi are ranked the highest in providing essential infrastructure while Odisha, Bihar and Manipur are ranked the lowest. Maharashtra is positioned on 9th spot. The indicators considered are power, water, roads and construction, housing etc.

2. Support to Human Development : 

Sikkim, Kerala and  Delhi are the top three states that provide support to human development while Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are the worst states on this account. Maharashtra ranks 14th. Education and Health are considered the parameters for the ranking.

3. Social Protection : 

Odisha, Telangana and Punjab are ranked the highest in social protection while Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa are at the bottom of the chart. Maharashtra is ranked at a poor 20th spot. The indicators considered are Public Distribution System (PDS), Social Justice and Empowerment, minority welfare, employment etc.

4. Women and Children : 

Mizoram, Tripura and Kerala lead in providing protection to children and women, child labour, sex ratio, % of malnourished children, working women population ratio, male female literacy gap. Bihar, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are the worst states in this regard. Maharashtra is ranked 19th.

5. Crime, Law and Order :

Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Goa top with respect to providing action against crime in the states while Odisha, Jharkhand and Haryana are ranked at the bottom. Maharashtra ranks seventh. Violent crimes, atrocities and policing were taken into consideration while rating the states.

6. Delivery of Justice : 

Mizoram, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh lead the pack in delivering justice while Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Bihar are worst in this aspect. Maharashtra is ranked 17th. Pendency of cases, vacancies of presiding officers and number of undertrials were the indicators taken into consideration.

7. Environment :

Pollution and environment violations, forest cover, renewable energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, water resource management etc. were some of the factors considered while rating the states. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh are ranked the highest while Jammu Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are ranked the lowest. Maharashtra is ranked 8th.

8. Transparency and Accountability :  

Karnataka, Harayana, Chhattisgarh are ranked the highest in transparency and accountability while Delhi and Odisha are ranked the lowest. Maharashtra is ranked 8th. The factors considered are number of services provided under e-governance plan, criminal records of MLAs, Social Audit under NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) , Lok Ayukt etc.

9. Fiscal Management : 

Telangana, Andra Pradesh and Jharkhand top while Maharashtra is ranked 12th. Manipur, Nagaland are ranked lowest in smaller states while West Bengal is lowest in the larger states. The indicators used for measuring fiscal management are per capita development expenditure, state’s own tax revenue growth, Tax-GDP ratio, Debt burden % etc.

10. Economic Freedom : 

Gujarat ranks first in economic freedom followed by Maharashta and Telangana. Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland are ranked the lowest. The indicators taken into consideration are number of industrial entrepreneurs memorandum filed, implementation of Business Reform Action Plan (BARP), households availing banking services and value of MSME’s (micro, small and medium enterprises)and assets.

(IMAGE COURTESY : TWITTER/PACINDIA)