THE STATE ENERGY AND CLIMATE INDEX PUBLISHED BY NITI AAYOG

Context

NITI Aayog has launched the State Energy and Climate Index (SECI). It is a first-of-its-kind index that intends to track the efforts made by India's states and UTs in the energy and climate sectors. The parameters of this index were developed with the country's aspirations for clean energy transition and climate change in mind.

Key Points

• This index rated India's states and union territories based on their efforts to improve energy consumption, energy access, environmental protection, and energy efficiency.
• This index has also contributed to the State's agenda of accessible, affordable, clean, and efficient energy transformation.
• This index has also spurred healthy rivalry among the nation's states and UTs in several domains of climate and energy.

Parameters of the Index

Six parameters have been used by this index that are:

1. Access Affordability and Reliability of Energy
2. Discoms’ (Power distribution companies) Performance
3. Energy Efficiency
4. Clean Energy Initiatives
5. New Initiatives
6. Environmental Sustainability 

These factors have been subdivided further into 27 indicators. The states and UTs of the country have been ranked as smaller states, larger states, and UTs based on geographical disparities and size based on SECI Round I's composite score. The states and UTs have been divided into three categories: Achievers, Front Runners, and Aspirants.

Unsatisfactory Performance among the larger states
The states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand were placed at the bottom of this index.