Implementing Sustainable Development Goals in India: Progress So far

Abstract

As the world inches towards 2030, there is barely a precious decade left towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Given the socio-economic fragility of the economies proven during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes imperative to strive maximum in order to achieve a harmony between economic, environmental and social progress in these economies. With 17.7% of share in the total world population, India has a very high degree of responsibility towards achievement of world SDGs. The spill over score for India is 98.8 which implies that India is in a strong position to create very positive spillover effects to other countries. With a federal structure comprising of 28 states and 8 UTs, the progress made by the Indian economy will depend on the progress made by these states and UTs. In this context the current article is an attempt to understand the extent of progress made in India towards achieving the various sustainable development goals. The analysis of the progress made on the various SDG goals is done at two levels: Global Level and State level.  At a global level, a comparison is done on the progress of SDGs made in India with other developed and developing economies respectively. To do the comparison the economies have been ranked on the basis of their progress in SDG goal achievement based on UN reports and their per capita incomes. This comparison is done to understand whether wealthier nations are faring better in the achievement of SDGs.  An important finding from this table is that the countries with highest per capita income do not necessarily have the highest rankings. This finding could have very meaningful implications on policy making and resource mobilization for the various goals in under developed and developing economies, including India. Further the analysis progress on various SDGs is done at a state level for India. This analysis is done to understand which states are doing good in terms of goal achievement and which states are lagging behind. The state level analysis can also point out to the best practices that are in practice and which can be adapted by other lagging states.  The analysis is done based on the Global Sustainable Development Report as well as the Sustainable Development Report prepared by NITI Ayog, Government of India. As the Central government as well as the State governments along with various stakeholders make efforts towards achieving these goals, a macro level analysis of the progress made on these goals can help in course correction at the correct time and thus optimize precious time and resources.