Access Equality Index 2026: Goa Tops, Andhra Pradesh Ranks Second

The Access Equality Index 2026 has been created by the Center for New Economics Studies (CNES) at O.P. Jindal Global University. It ranks Goa as the top-scoring state in the country with a score of 0.68. Andhra Pradesh comes second with a score of 0.66 and Sikkim third with a score of 0.63. It focuses on how accessible essential services, infrastructure and opportunities are in each of the 28 states. It looks at five categories: health, education, and socio-economic security.

Access Equality Index 2026 Top States

Goa is ranked number one overall. Andhra Pradesh comes top for the major states. Sikkim comes third.

Ranking	State	Score
1	Goa	0.68
2	Andhra Pradesh	0.66
3	Sikkim	0.63
4	Kerala	0.60
5	Tamil Nadu	0.57
5	Telangana	0.57

Andhra Pradesh is categorized as a Front Runner State. It came first in the country for socio-economic security. With a score of 0.69. Goa comes second with a score of 0.50.

What Is The Access Equality Index?

The Access Equality Index measures how accessible services and opportunities are rather than just measuring development based on income.

The 2026 edition considers five categories,

Basic Infrastructure: Water, sanitation, housing and clean energy.
Health: Health services.
Education: Educational facilities.
Socio-economic Security: Jobs, banking, insurance and pensions.
Legal Services: Legal assistance.

There are 60 indicators in 23 categories. All 5 categories have equal weighting.

The index has a broad approach to accessibility, looking at how accessible, affordable, geographically accessible, and of quality service. It also highlights differences between rural/urban areas, castes and genders.

Background: Access (In)Equality Index 2021

The original Access (In)Equality Index was published by the Center for New Economics Studies at O.P. Jindal Global University in 2021. It focused on basic amenities, health, education, socio-economic security and justice in the states and Union Territories of India.

Goa was ranked number one in the country with a score of 0.67. It ranked number one for basic amenities, health and socio-economic security. It ranked number two for secondary education.

This report broke down the states into three categories,

Category	Index Score
Aspirants	< 0.33
Achievers	0.33-0.42
Front Runners	> 0.42

The 2026 index should be considered a new edition. The scores and rankings cannot be directly compared. For example, Goa had a score of 0.67 in 2021 and 0.68 in 2026.

Constitutional Provisions Related to Access to Essential Services

This index links to several constitutional provisions. These focus on education, public health, social welfare and justice.

Article/Law	Main Point
Article 21A	Free and compulsory education for 6-14 year olds.
86th Constitutional Amendment Act (2002)	Added Article 21A into the constitution.
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009)	Statutory framework for Article 21A.
Article 47	State must improve nutrition, standard of living and public health.
Article 37	Directive Principles of State Policy can’t be enforced by the court but are fundamental to governance.
Legal Services Authorities Act (1987)	Legal services authorities and Lok Adalats.
Listed in the State List as item 17.	Water supply, irrigation, canals, drainage, etc. (Union List item 56).
Listed in the Union List as item 56.	Parliament can control and develop inter-State rivers and river valleys in the public interest.