Public Affairs Index 2021

Public Affairs Index 2021 – Governance in the States of India
Research Team: Gurucharan Gollerkeri, Samridhi Pandey, Anjana Kizhpadathil, Sai Sidharth M.
Published by: Public Affairs Centre (PAC)

Public Affairs Index 2021- Governance in the States of India is the sixth edition of the Public Affairs Centre's flagship governance assessment, providing a comprehensive, evidence-based evaluation of sub-national governance across Indian States and Union Territories. The report measures governance through a composite framework comprising three pillars, Equity, Growth, and Sustainability, five governance themes, 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and 43 indicators, using data from Central Government sources and statistically rigorous methodologies such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In addition to the overall Governance Index, the report introduces Scheme Analysis, the COVID-19 Response Index, Delta Analysis, and Cluster Analysis to assess state performance in implementing major centrally sponsored schemes, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, tracking year-on-year development progress, and identifying patterns in governance outcomes. The report ranks states and Union Territories across multiple dimensions, highlights regional disparities and development deficits, and provides state-specific insights to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, improve public service delivery, promote transparency and accountability, and support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.