Nobody is starving in Punjab: KTS Tulsi on Niti Aayog's SDG Index 2019-20 report

Speaking on the latest NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) India Index data, Congress leader KTS Tulsi said that the organisation must first determine the parameters by which it has placed Punjab two ranks down in the 'Zero Hunger Goal' category, and added that nobody is starving in Punjab.

"They should first tell us what are the parameters they have taken to rank the state. No one is dying of starvation in Punjab. The state government is providing the poor pulses and wheat for free. Nobody is starving...," he said while speaking to ANI in New Delhi.

Niti Aayog's -- SDG Index 2019-20 report, based on 17 goals covering 100 indicators, showed that the state has done exceptionally well in areas like open-defecation free (ODF), internet subscribers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and door-to-door waste collection, besides showing improvement in the average annual dropout rate at secondary level, said an official statement.

However, there were a few indicators where the state's performance had marginally declined. The release further said that employment under the MGNREGA decreased from 81.63 per cent to 76.12 per cent, sex ratio at birth decreased from 893 to 886, and reported cognizable crimes against children (one lakh population) increased from 21 to 24.3.

According to the statement, Punjab ranked 10th with the index score 60 among the states against India's overall score of 57 points in NITI Aayog's first report 'SDG Index India 2018', based on 13 goals covering 62 priority indicators.