NITI Aayog Stressed Importance on Monitoring Performance of 29 select Global Indices

NITI Aayog organized a virtual workshop with 47 Central Ministries/Departments, chaired by Shri Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary, in furtherance of the Government of India’s decision to monitor the performance of 29 select Global Indices to drive reforms and growth in the country. The methodology of stakeholder consultation; engagement with publishing and survey/data agencies; framework for state rankings, platform for information sharing; and monitoring mechanism were discussed at length in the workshop.

While inaugurating the Workshop, the Cabinet Secretary highlighted that the monitoring exercise is not just to improve rankings but to improve systems and drive reforms to attract investments and to shape India’s perception globally. He also called this monitoring exercise a trigger for transformational improvement in India’s citizen service delivery framework.

CEO, NITI Aayog, briefed the participants about various background activities carried out by NITI Aayog, NIC, DPIIT, MoSPI and other Ministries in relation to monitoring of these Global Indices. He also stressed on the need for close and regular coordination between Central and state governments, Publishing Agencies, and Civil Society Organizations on improving performance on these Indices as a trigger for reforms.

It has long been felt that there is a need to measure and monitor India’s performance on various important social, economic and other parameters through internationally recognized Indices. The goal of the exercise is to use these Indices as tools for self-improvement, and bring about reforms in policies, while improving last-mile implementation of government schemes. Simultaneously, it is equally important to present an accurate image of India to the world. The large-scale reforms initiated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and India’s improvement in the Ease of Doing Business rankings (India jumped to the 63rd position in 2020 report) were felt to be the right template for driving this process.

The 29 global indices, published by 19 international agencies, have been assigned to 18 nodal ministries and departments of the Government of India.

NITI Aayog will assist in monitoring the performance and progress of all these Indices, and aid in their engagement with Publishing Agencies. The related Ministry/Department will monitor key parameters identified and ensure reforms and progress sought is achieved. The Ministry/Department will also coordinate with the data publishing agencies to ensure accurate and representative reporting. Index Monitoring Cells have already been set up in most Ministries to drive and monitor this exercise. This activity will require close coordination among the Central Government, States and Civil Society Organizations.

A single, informative dashboard is being prepared for all the 29 Global Indices. The dashboard will allow for monitoring of the parameters as per official data as well as the data source used by the publishing agencies. It will also facilitate monitoring the performance of the States and Union territories, including on reforms.

In his closing remarks, the Cabinet Secretary emphasized the need for regular engagement with Publishing Agencies to present an accurate picture of the country. He highlighted improvement of India’s rankings in Ease of Doing Business Index as an example in this regard.  He also spoke about setting up PMUs in all the nodal ministries to spearhead the whole process.