Question

How has india implemented sustainable development goals?

Answer 1

India has played an important role in shaping the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, it is no surprise that the country’s national development goals are mirrored in the SDGs. As such, India has been effectively committed to achieving the SDGs even before they were fully crystallized.

The expression “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas,” which translates as “Collective Effort, Inclusive Growth” and has been popularized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, forms the cornerstone of India’s national development agenda. To fast track this agenda, the Government of India has just released a draft Three-Year Action Agenda covering years 2017-18 to 2019-20. In parallel, work is in advance stages on a 15-Year Vision, which will also include a 7-year Strategy. Reflecting the country’s long-standing federal tradition, these documents are being prepared with active participation of the States (sub-national Governments).

Reflecting the country’s commitment to the SDG agenda at the highest levels of Government, the Indian Parliament organized several forums including the South Asian Speakers’ Summit in February 2017. These forums have focused on the elimination of poverty, gender equality, climate change and resource mobilization for SDGs. Additionally, the Speaker’s Research Initiative has been launched for providing SDG-related insights to Members of Parliament.

For implementing the SDG agenda, the Government of India has launched several ambitious programmes, some of which are highlighted below. A noteworthy example of a crosscutting initiative is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which is the world’s largest financial inclusion programme. By leveraging PMJDY, Aadhaar (biometric identity system) and mobile telephony, the Government has disbursed a cumulative amount of INR 1.62 trillion (USD 25 billion) to 329 million beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfers.1 This has helped to significantly enhance the efficiency of Government programmes.

Further, special efforts have been made to invigorate the federal governance structure of the country through cooperative and competitive federalism. State Governments are playing a prominent role in advancing the national development agenda. The recommendations made by three sub-groups of Chief Ministers of States on various themes including the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) and skill development have contributed towards shaping relevant policy decisions at the national-level.

India’s bold Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), communicated to the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, form a significant part of its SDG strategy. These include substantially reducing the emission intensity of GDP, tapping non-fossil fuel energy sources and creating additional carbon sink.

The responsibility for overseeing SDG implementation has been assigned to the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), which is the premier policy think tank of the Government and is chaired by the Prime Minister of India. NITI Aayog has mapped the goals and targets to various nodal ministries as well as flagship programmes. State Governments are also engaged in developing roadmaps for achieving the SDGs with several of them having already published their plans. Draft indicators for tracking the SDGs have been developed and placed in the public domain by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for wider consultation.

The main messages for India’s Voluntary National Review of SDG implementation encapsulate the progress made with respect to Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 and 17. This is not to suggest that progress has not been made with respect to other goals. Interconnections across the 17 SDGs are so strong that the pursuit of the goals explicitly discussed below necessarily involves the promotion of other goals as well.