Every single state in India comes with its own set of rules. Some of them might be overtly political in nature, others might be at the extreme end of a certain religion. And despite being born into these traditions, people might not end up being a fan of it and may want to move on. But where? Well, according to the Indian Government, Andhra Pradesh should be your top choice.
According to the Times of India, Andhra Pradesh has topped the “Ease of Living Index” list, followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. The announcement was made by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, who said,
“The Ease of Living Index is a transformative initiative of the Ministry to help the cities assess their liveability vis-Ã -vis national and global benchmarks.”
This “Ease of Living Index” falls under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). It’s a scheme that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 to ensure robust sewage networks, water supply and other infrastructural developments to improve the quality of life in urban areas.
This award was given to Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha at the National Dissemination Workshop in New Delhi. During his speech at the ceremony, Puri said,
“The index will encourage all cities to move towards an ‘outcome-based’ approach to urban planning and management and promote healthy competition among cities.”
The decision to rank states and cities based on the liveability parameters began in June 2017 and its implementation took place in January 2018. Puri said that the parameters consisted of four pillars: institutional, social, economic and physical. It was further broken down into 78 indicators across 15 categories with maximum weightage being on infrastructure and governance.
However, according to The News Minute, beginning a competition between the states and cities wasn’t the only objective. Puri said that there is a larger goal to be fulfilled.
“Another highlight of the Ease of Living assessment standards is its close linkage with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Of the 17 SDG goals, eight goals are directly linked to India’s ease of living assessment framework with SDG 11.”
Pune was recently awarded as the best city to live in. And now Andra Pradesh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh have been stated to be the best states to live in. So, I hope that will narrow down your “where to move to” list considerably.