In December 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked of "the most important role" states play in India's progress. He talked of India moving forward "on the strong shoulders of the states, and not from Delhi alone". Ten months later, the PM will be pleased to know that the states are not just "walking shoulder to shoulder", in certain areas they have marched ahead of his central government.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, states have raised spending on roads, ports and power plants by 29 per cent between April and July. This is certainly good news because a one per cent increase in expenditure by states leads to a 0.11 per cent lift in gross domestic product compared with a 0.04 per cent boost from Central government investment, as revealed by an RBI study in 2013.

METHODOLOGY



This year we have come up with a new methodology to rank the states. We are evaluating the states under two broad sections-best-performing and most improved. For best-performing states, the records of 2013-14 have been considered. For most improved states, year-to-year improvement between 2012-13 and 2013-14 has been considered.

Here is a list of winners for the State of the State Awards 2016



Best Performing States

For best performing states, the performance records of 2013-14 have been considered.



Category Big State

Small State

Overall Kerala Goa Economy Maharashtra Delhi Agriculture Punjab Puducherry Health Kerala Goa Education Himachal Pradesh Sikkim Infrastructure Andhra Pradesh

Goa Inclusive Development Maharashtra Delhi Law and Order

Kerala Puducherry E-Governance Maharashtra Delhi Entrepreneurship Gujarat Delhi Environment Kerala Meghalaya





Most Improved States

For most improved states, year-to-year performance improvement between 2012-13 and 2013-14 has been considered.