Districts from Mizoram, Tripura, and Nagaland have emerged as top performers in the second edition of NITI Aayog’s North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index 2023-24, even as intra-state disparities and data challenges remain. Hnahthial district in Mizoram topped the list with a score of 81.43, followed by Champhai (Mizoram), Gomati and West Tripura (Tripura), and Mokokchung (Nagaland) among the top five districts in the region.
The index, jointly developed by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MoDoNER) with technical support from UNDP, assessed 131 districts—covering 92 percent of the North East—across 15 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 84 indicators. SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 17 (Partnerships) were excluded due to limited relevance at the district level.
Districts were scored between 0 and 100 based on their overall achievement in realising SDG targets. They were classified as Achievers (score of 100), Front Runners (65–99), Performers (50–64), and Aspirants (below 50). In this edition, 85 percent of districts fell under the Front Runner category, marking significant progress from 62 percent in the previous 2021 edition.
