India’s governance landscape has substantially transformed over the past decade, primarily driven by Digital India initiatives, e-governance reforms and institutional modernisation. However, these reforms effectiveness and long-term sustainability differ across states, necessitating a systematic framework to
comprehensively assess governance transformation.
SKOCH State of Governance Transformation Index offers a comprehensive framework for evaluating
governance performance across Indian states. This Index assesses two primary dimensions—Technical
Governance Transformation (TGT) and Quality of Governance Transformation (QGT)—to systematically
measure the extent of digital adoption, administrative efficiency and policy implementation.
The findings reveal a two-phase trajectory in governance transformation. The period between 2014 and 2019 witnessed substantial improvements, primarily attributed to initiatives such as Digital India, the expansion of e-governance and key policy reforms. However, this progress plateaued between 2019 and 2024, highlighting the pressing need for enhanced governance mechanisms, decentralised administrative structures and greater efficiency in public service delivery.
Among the states Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana have consistently emerged as top performers,
driven by significant investments in digital infrastructure and the adoption of streamlined governance models. Maharashtra, West Bengal and Rajasthan demonstrated early gains. Still, it stagnated post-2019, while Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh remained below the national average, reflecting slower adoption of governance transformation and indicating the necessity for targeted reforms. In the category of smaller states, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim led in governance transformation, whereas Nagaland and Manipur lagged, exhibiting below-average performance.
Despite the initial progress, the stagnation in governance transformation post-2019 underscores persistent challenges in service delivery at the district and municipal levels, fiscal constraints and the limited expansion of governance modernisation beyond urban centers. The study reinforces the need for data-driven policymaking, structural governance reforms and continuous modernisation efforts.
Governance transformation in India is occurring amid economic restructuring, technological disruptions and increasing public service expectations. The Supreme Court’s scrutiny of fiscal sustainability has reinforced the need for governance models that balance developmental priorities with administrative efficiency. Additionally, global governance indices such as the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) often fail to reflect India- specific advancements, leading to an underestimation of its digital governance achievements. The SKOCH State of Governance Transformation Index provides a context-sensitive, state-wise assessment for regional policy variations and governance challenges.
Between 2014 and 2019, India saw rapid governance transformation driven by Digital India, Aadhaar-based service integration and automation in public service delivery. However, post-2019, progress has slowed, underscoring the need for renewed policy initiatives, AI-driven governance reforms and decentralised administrative models.
The SKOCH State of Governance Transformation Index adopts a dual-framework approach to measure these dimensions, ensuring a comprehensive, state-wise assessment of governance efficiency.
The extent of transformation assesses a state’s digital governance infrastructure and human capital readiness through three key indicators:
By analysing these indicators, the Index quantifies the readiness of states to implement digital governance and their progress in integrating technology into public service delivery.
Beyond infrastructure investment, governance transformation depends on the effectiveness, innovation and impact of policy interventions. The Index evaluates projects at the project, state and national levels.
Together, these steps provide a balanced assessment of the state of governance in Indian States, ensuring that technological advancements and administrative reforms contribute to improved public sector performance.
The State of Governance Transformation Scores are computed for each state for 2014, 2019 and 2024,
following the established methodological framework.
The study analyses the large states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
The average Technical Governance Transformation Scores for these states across the three reference years are 0.38 (2014), 0.38 (2019) and 0.43 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
The findings indicate significant variations in state-wise technical governance transformation, with some states demonstrating consistent progress in digital infrastructure and technology-driven governance, while others exhibit stagnation or decline in their technical governance capabilities over time.
The Index delineates the state-wise Quality of Governance Transformation Scores for 2014, 2019 and 2024.
The average Quality of Governance Transformation Scores for these states across the three reference years are 0.18 (2014), 0.43 (2019) and 0.37 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
The findings indicate significant state-wise variations in governance transformation over time, with some states showing consistent progress while others exhibit fluctuating or stagnant performance.
The study shows the governance transformation scores for the large states.
The average State of Governance Transformation Scores for these states across the three reference years are 0.28 (2014), 0.41 (2019) and 0.40 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
It also provides the performance of small states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura.
The average Technical Governance Transformation Scores for small states across three reference years are 0.35 (2014), 0.46 (2019). 0.40 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
The average Quality of Governance Transformation Scores for small states across the three reference years are 0.40 (2014), 0.51 (2019) and 0.41 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
The average State of Governance Transformation Scores for small states across the three reference years are 0.37 (2014), 0.48 (2019) and 0.41 (2024).
States with scores above the average for each respective year are:
* States are divided amongst Large States and Small States, as classified by NITI Aayog in recently released Fiscal Health Index 2025.
Notes:
Technical Governance Transformation is calculated based on published data by government and regulators.
Quality Governance Transformation is drawn based on State of Governance Score using project level, state level, national level data published by SKOCH Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd.
| Star States | 2014 | 2019 | 2024 |
Andhra Pradesh | 0.35 | 0.70 | 0.78 |
| Gujarat | 0.61 | 0.70 | 0.73 |
| Telangana | 0.30 | 0.64 | 0.63 |
| Maharashtra | 0.73 | 0.61 | 0.58 |
| Kerala | 0.32 | 0.49 | 0.43 |
Technical Governance Transformation (TGT)
Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII)
Human Capital Index (HCI)
Online Service Index (OSI)
Technical Governance Transformation =
¼ (TII normalised) + ¼ (HCI normalised) + ½ (OSI normalised)
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