Shimla City ranked first in the Ease Of Living Index (EoLI) among the cities having population below 10 lac. This is a matter of pride for the State Govt. and the Citizens of Shimla. Ease of living Index is an objective evaluation of the liveability of a city. In the results announced today by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt. of India, Shimla ranked number 1 taking a long stride from the  raking in 2018 wherein Shimla was rated at 92^nd place. The ranking of Shimla in the Ease of Living Index is an indication of the pace of development and the commitment of the State Govt. towards the welfare of the public. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in order to  assess the progress made in cities through various initiatives and empower them to use evidence to plan, implement & monitor their performance had launched two  Assessment Frameworks, viz. Ease of LivingIndex (EoLI) and Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2019. Both these indices were designed to assess quality of life of citizens in 100 Smart Cities and 14 other Cities having population more than 10 lac.

            Ease of Living Index is aimed at providing a holistic view of Indian cities – starting from the services provided by urban local bodies, the effectiveness of the administration, the outcomes generated through these services in terms of the liveability within cities and, finally, the citizen perception of these outcomes. The key objectives of the Ease of Living Index were  four-folds, viz. 1) generate information to guide evidence-based policy making; 2) catalyse action to achieve broader developmental outcomes including the SDG; 3) assess and compare the outcomes achieved from various urban policies and schemes; and 4) obtain the perception of citizens about their view of the services provided by the city administration. Ease of Living    was based on assessment of ease of living of citizens across three points i.e. Quality of Life, Economic Ability and Sustainability which were further divided into 14 categories across 50 indicators.

           The ranking of the Shimla as Number 1 is a reflection of the development that has taken place in the recent years in the State. Unprecedented development in the fields of education, health, public works and other sectors as well and decline in the crime rate in the State have added to the liveability of Shimla City. Continuous and uniform planned development in the State despite adverse situations arising because of Covid-19 pandemic is perfect example of dedication and citizen friendly administration of the state Govt.

Shimla is at the top of a list of 56 urban areas that ranks cities on sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as eliminating poverty and ensuring quality education, and gender equality, federal policy think tank NITI Aayog.

Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Panaji, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Ahmedabad and Nagpur, in that order, follow Shimla, in having achieved these goals, according to an SDG urban index developed jointly by NITI Aayog and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development known as BMZ and German development agency GIZ.

These ten urban areas have scored between 75.5 and 69.79 of 100 to be ranked as front runners.

The SDG Urban Index ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework. The idea is to strengthen localisation of the SDG framework and ensure close monitoring of progress at the city level.

Cities are fast becoming engines of growth and the SDG urban index and dashboard will go a long way in setting up a robust SDG monitoring system in our cities and is a milestone in our SDG localisation journey.