Himachal slips to 3rd position in Public Affairs Index

Shimla, October 30

Even as Himachal Pradesh remains the only state from North to have been ranked third best in the small category in Public Affairs Index 2020, the fact that the hill state has slid from the top and second position in the last two years can be a cause of concern.

The report was released by the Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru-based not-for-profit organisation, today. Having remained the best governed state in the small category in 2018 and the second best in 2019, this year the state has slid to the third position. Last year, Himachal was at No. 2 with a score of 0.985 as compared to Goa, which held the top position with a score of 1.1.

In 2018, HP was adjudged the best governed state in the small category with a score of 0.513, followed by Goa at 0.487 and Sikkim at 0.484.

The hill state has in the past performed well on themes like support to human development, essential infrastructure, social protection, women and children, crime and law and order. “Even though we will be reviewing our performance sector wise to see how our ranking has come down, but the fact remains that most of the indices and criteria cannot be applied to a hill state like Himachal on the same analogy for other states like Goa,” said Prabodh Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance.