Explanation:

• The NITI Aayog Vice-Chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar released the third edition of the SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 on June 03, 2021.
• The basic aim of the index is to comprehensively monitor and rank the progress made by States and Union Territories towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
• The theme of SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 is Partnerships in the Decade of Action.
• The third edition covers 16 Goals of SDG, with a qualitative assessment on Goal 17 and 115 quantitative indicators, covering 70 SDG targets.
• Kerala retained its position at the top of the rankings in the third edition of the index, with a score of 75, followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 74.