Gujarat tops NITI Aayog's State Energy and Climate Index-Round 1 among larger states

Gujarat has topped Niti Aayog's State Energy and Climate Index-Round 1 (SECI) among larger states, which is aimed at ranking states and Union territories (UTs) on six parameters including discoms' performance, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

New Delhi: Gujarat has topped Niti Aayog's State Energy and Climate Index-Round 1 (SECI) among larger states, which is aimed at ranking states and Union territories (UTs) on six parameters including discoms' performance, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Gujarat was followed by Kerala and Punjab, according to the government think tank's report. States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand were placed at the bottom. Among the smaller states, Goa topped the Aayog's index, followed by Tripura and Manipur. Among union territories (UTs), Chandigarh topped the index, followed by Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli (D&D and D&N).

Punjab was the best performer in discom performance parameter among larger states, while Kerala emerged as top performer in access, affordability and reliability category among larger states. Likewise, Haryana was the best performer when it comes to clean energy initiative among larger states, while Tamil Nadu emerged as top performer in the energy efficiency category. The index is based on 2019-20 data. Releasing the report, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that this index that compares states and UTs across many indicators will encourage them towards energy transition, and all the necessary steps must be taken to achieve this. Kumar further said there is a need to convert the country's efforts towards achieving the 'Panchamrit' targets announced by the Prime Minister at COP-26, Glasgow into a peoples' movement.

NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat said synergy and partnership among the centre and the states will be critical for achieving energy and climate-related goals and making the country self-reliant in the energy sector. He said that after extensive discussions with stakeholders, several key parameters have been identified to track and rank the performance of the states in this report. The report said the state governments need to prioritise policies to facilitate inclusive growth by providing affordable, accessible, reliable, and sustainable energy to the citizens. Energy being the centerpiece of any development process, the government needs to ensure access to sustainable and clean energy sources through various schemes, it added.

The State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) Round-1 ranks states and UTs on six parameters -- discoms' performance; access affordability and reliability of energy; clean energy initiatives; energy efficiency; environmental sustainability; and new initiatives. These parameters include a total of 27 indicators based on the outcome of SECI Round-1 scores, states and union territories have been categorised into three groups -- front runners, achievers, and aspirants. The index can be used by the states and UTs to benchmark their performance against their peers, analyse the potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms, and efficiently manage their energy resources.

PTI