<p>Achieving agricultural sustainability in India involves balancing productivity growth with environmental stewardship and social inclusion, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study evaluates agricultural sustainability across 28 Indian states using a composite index derived from Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Twenty-two state-level indicators were mapped to eleven agriculture-related SDGs and organized into three dimensions: economic sustainability, environmental and resource use, and social well-being and food security. These indicators were normalized and objectively weighted using a hierarchical PCA. The composite scores for the states ranged from 33.82 to 77.14. Low-input states, such as Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Kerala, topped the rankings due to their strong environmental and social performance. In contrast, several high-productivity states, including Punjab, Haryana, and Telangana, along with the lowest-ranked states, including Rajasthan, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, were negatively affected by environmental and social shortcomings. A four-cluster typology demonstrated that states with different economic characteristics can achieve similar composite scores, highlighting that high productivity alone does not ensure sustainability. The index proved robust to alternative weighting and normalization methods. By quantifying trade-offs across different dimensions at the state level, this PCA-based framework supports the development of differentiated, evidence-based agricultural policies and provides a reproducible tool for tracking progress toward the SDGs. Future research should expand the framework to include district-level and longitudinal analyses, as well as climate-resilience indicators.</p>