Northeast states top list of Covid performers: SBI – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Northeastern states have emerged on top of the list of states which have performed the best on parameters such as Covid management, fiscal numbers and implementing centrally sponsored schemes followed by UP and MP, according to a State Bank of India ranking.
“By combining the scores attained on each of the three parameters, states’ ranking showed that Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh were at the bottom. While Chhattisgarh and Bengal have fared worse in all 3 parameters, HP has done well in macro management but seems to be lagging in central schemes’ implementation and Covid management. The hilly terrain of the state is holding back the recovery rate,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser at SBI. The study has clubbed the northeastern states into one.
For assessing Covid management, the study used four indicators such as gap between the actual number of cases and estimated cases, possible number of under-reporting of cases, recovery rate and death rate. The results show the northeast tops the list followed by Bihar and UP. Rajasthan, Maharashtra and HP are at the bottom.
For macro indicators, the deviation of GST collection from state budget estimates, market borrowing and CPI inflation were analysed. Under this category the northeast, HP and MP performed better.