Telangana among top 5 for best governance in the country

Hyderabad: Telangana state achieved yet another distinction by finding a place in the list of top-5 best-governed states in the country, according to the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018 released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC) on Sunday.

Kerala topped the country while Telangana state stood at the third place. The other states in the top-5 list include Tamil Nadu (second), Karnataka (fourth) and Gujarat (fifth). AP was ranked ninth.

The think tank ranked the states on 10 factors including essential infrastructure, support to human development, social protection, women and children as well as law and order.

“Kerala has topped the Public Affairs Index (PAI) for 2018 as the best-governed state for the third consecutive year since 2016 among large states,” said the Bengaluru-based PAC in its third annual index.

Released annually since 2016, the index examines governance performance in the states through a data-based framework, ranking them on social and economic development they are able to provide.

Founded in 1994 by renowned Indian economist and scholar late Samuel Paul, the think tank works to mobilise a demand for better governance in the country. Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar were ranked the lowest on the PAI, indicating  higher social and economic inequalities.

Among smaller states with a population fo less than two crore, Himachal Pradesh topped the list, followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura which figured among the top five states with good governance. Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked at the bottom of the index among small states.

As a young country with growing population, India needs to assess and address its developmental challenges, said PAC chairman K. Kasturirangan.

“The PAI 2018 is one example of a data-based framework that provides some basis, even if rudimentary, to assess the performance of states in India,” added Dr Kasturirangan, former chairman of Isro.

“The index provides a multi-dimensional and comprehensive matrix that attempts to capture the complexities of governing diversity of people  in this sub-continent,” said PAC senior fellow C.K. Mathew.