Ease of Living Index: Odisha ranks second among all states in India

Odisha has been ranked second among all the states of the country in terms of ‘Ease of Living Index’ rankings launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh have been awarded the three best performing states under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) at the National Dissemination Workshop on Ease of Living Index, 2018, held in New Delhi on September 24.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, AMRUT aims at ensuring robust sewage networks, water supply and other infrastructure to improve the quality of life of people in urban areas.

The Ease of Living Index seeks to assist cities in undertaking a 360-degree assessment of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was decided in June 2017 to rank 116 cities (all smart cities and million plus cities) based on the liveability parameters. The implementation of the assessment commenced formally on January 19, 2018.

MoHUA released the first Ease of Living Index covering 111 Indian cities on August 13, 2018, which serves as a litmus test to help assess the progress made in cities through various initiatives. All cities were evaluated out of 100. The ‘physical’ pillar (infrastructure) was given the highest weightage of 45, while institutional (governance) and social were weighted 25 each. Economy was weighted 5.

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