Purpose This paper aims to examine the progress and disparities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) across states of North East India during 2021-22 to 2023-24. Design/methodology/approach The present study is based on secondary data from the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog's SDG Index reports published in 2021-22 to 2023-24. The district-level SDG data are used for the investigation, comprising 121 districts from eight states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The study utilises statistical analyses, including the t-test, ANOVA, spatial distribution maps and graphs, to achieve its objective. Findings Comparative spatial analysis reveals a positive trajectory in SDG localisation across the North-East. The t-test result further proves significant progress in SDG performance across the North-Eastern Region (NER) from 2021–22 to 2023–24. However, progress toward the SDG remains inconsistent among states. The study also revealed variations in achieving individual goals among the states. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to examining progress and disparities in achieving the SDGs across various districts of North East India. Originality/value This study is an original piece of research that enriches the existing literature by providing, for the first time, empirical insights into SDG progress and disparities across districts in North East India. However, the present study is constrained in its ability to identify the underlying factors responsible for the uneven progress among the districts of the NER of India.
Debnath et al. (Tue,) studied this question.