New Delhi, April 11 : NITI Aayog on Monday launched the State Energy and Climate Index-Round I, (SECI) on six parameters. According to the official statement, Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger states whereas Goa, emerged as the top-performing state in the smaller states category, followed by Tripura, and Manipur. In the on territories category, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers, as per the report. The State Energy & Climate Index (SECI) Round I ranks the states’ performance on 6 parameters including, DISCOM’s Performance , Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy , Clean Energy Initiatives , Energy Efficiency, Environmental Sustainability; and New Initiatives. The parameters are further divided into 27 indicators. Based on the composite SECI Round I score, the states and UTs are categorized into three groups: Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants. Talking about the report, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said achieving the ambitious climate targets would require a conducive policy environment to encourage investment. He also remarked that the State Energy & Climate Index Round-I will help initiate a dialogue with the states on the energy sector so that much required policy improvements can be made. Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog said there is a need to convert our efforts towards achieving the ‘Panchamrit’ targets announced by the hon’ble PM at COP-26, Glasgow into a peoples’ movement. In order to do this, the role of the States is going to be critical. “Governance innovation and mutual learning by states shall go a long way in improving outcomes and SECI Round I is the right step in this direction” he said. Dr. V.K Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, remarked that synergy and partnership among the Centre and the States will be critical for achieving energy and climate-related goals and making the country self-reliant in the energy sector. He said after extensive discussions with stakeholders, several key parameters have been identified to track and rank the performance of the states in this report. Additional Secretary Dr Rakesh Sarwal presented the key findings of the Report and appreciated the work taken up by NITI Aayog for coming out with the State Energy & Climate Index. He stressed that a clean energy transition is inevitable. The role of DISCOM’s is paramount and their viability is the crux. He pointed out that regulatory assets at the same time need to be liquidated which is making DISCOMs unviable. JA SY 1535