Public Affairs Index 2020

Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2020 – Governance in the States of India
Research Team: Gurucharan Gollerkeri; Aparna Sivaraman; Mrinalini Kabbur; Samridhi Pandey; Aishwariya Venkatesh.
Published by: Public Affairs Centre (PAC)

Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2020 - Governance in the States of India is the fifth edition of the Public Affairs Centre's flagship governance assessment, providing a comprehensive, evidence-based evaluation of governance performance across Indian States and Union Territories. The report measures governance through a composite framework comprising three pillars, Equity, Growth, and Sustainability, five governance themes, 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and 50 indicators, using objective government data and statistically rigorous techniques including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Delta Analysis. In addition to the overall governance rankings, the report analyses state performance across individual pillars, examines inter-state disparities, identifies patterns of inequality and regional divergence, and introduces Delta Analysis to assess states' progress over the previous five years independent of legacy performance. It highlights the importance of decentralisation, data-driven governance, institutional capacity, human capital, and sustainable development in improving governance outcomes while demonstrating how variations in governance quality influence development trajectories across states. The report concludes with policy recommendations advocating greater devolution of powers, evidence-based decision-making, stronger local governance institutions, improved public data systems, and targeted interventions to reduce regional inequalities and accelerate progress towards equitable, sustainable, and inclusive development.