Sustainable Development Goal of India [Current Affairs]

India is critical in determining the success of the SDGs, globally. At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted, “Sustainable development of one-sixth of humanity will be of great consequence to the world and our beautiful planet. It will be a world of fewer challenges and greater hope; and, more confident of its success”.

India’s premier think tank

NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s premier think tank, has been entrusted with the task of coordinating the SDGs, mapping schemes related to the SDGs and their targets, and identifying lead and supporting ministries for each target. In addition, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has been leading discussions for developing national indicators for the SDGs. State governments are key to India’s progress on the SDGs as they are best placed to ‘put people first’ and to ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’.

Supports to India

The UN Country Team in India supports NITI Aayog, Union ministries and state governments in their efforts to address the interconnectedness of the goals, to ensure that no one is left behind and to advocate for adequate financing to achieve the SDGs.

UN’s support to The Sustainable Development Goals in India

The 17 SDGs and 169 targets are part of a transformative agenda – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by 193 Member States at the UN General Assembly Summit in September 2015, and which came into effect on 1 January 2016. At the core of this global agenda for 2030 is the principle of universality: ‘Leave No One Behind’.

Development in all its dimensions

Development in all its dimensions must include all people, everywhere, and should be built through the participation of everyone, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised. This comprehensive agenda recognises that it is no longer sufficient just to focus on economic growth, but on fairer and more equal societies, and a safer and more prosperous planet.

Brief History of SDGs goal

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

What are the 17 SDGs Goals

1. No Poverty

With a projected global poverty rate of 7% in 2030, the equivalent of 598,394,116 people, this UN goal aims to end poverty of all kinds.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 1 objectives include but are not limited to: end extreme poverty (those living on 1.25 dollars per day), reduce half the population living in poverty, implement protection systems, ensure equal rights to economic resources and basic services, reduce poverty-related vulnerability to climate change-induced extreme weather events, mobilize resources in developing countries, and create pro-poor and gender-sensitive policy frameworks by 2030. The COVID-19 conflict set back poverty reduction progress.

2. Zero Hunger

As of 2020, 2.37 billion people are without food or unable to eat a healthy balanced diet, hence the goal of zero hunger. “Zero Hunger” sets out to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. The global pandemic has only worsened global hunger, seeing as many as 161 million additional people will experience hunger as a result. Regarding women, 1/3 of those at a reproductive age experience Anaemia due to nutritional deficiencies.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 2 objectives include but are not limited to: end hunger, end all forms of malnutrition, double agricultural productivity and the income of small-scale food producers, bring resilience to agricultural practices and found sustainable food production systems, and maintain genetic food diversity.

3. Good Health and Well-Being

With a focus on increasing life expectancy and reducing common child and maternal diseases and killers, this goal targets ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages. The global pandemic has only made health disparities more apparent, halting and even reducing life-expectancy progress.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 3 objectives include but are not limited to: reduce maternal mortality, end preventable newborn and child death, end multiple disease epidemics, reduce premature mortality, prevent and treat substance abuse, halt traffic-related deaths and injuries, ensure universal health coverage and access, reduce pollution and contamination deaths.

4. Quality Education 

This goal ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning for all. Sadly, COVID-19 reversed years of education gains, and many countries lack basic school infrastructure.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 4 objectives include but are not limited to: ensure free and quality primary and secondary education, give children access to early childhood development, ensure equal access for men and women to afford higher education choices, increase skills in youth, ensure gender equality, and promote sustainable development in education.

5. Gender Equality 

SDG 5 targets to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The percentage of women who work in national parliaments, local governments, and in managerial positions is still significantly less than that of men. Not to mention 1 in 3 women are subject to violence at least once since the age of 15, and child marriage is still highly present.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 5 objectives include but are not limited to: end discrimination against women, eliminate all forms of violence against women, eliminate harmful practices, value unpaid care and domestic work, ensure equal opportunities for leadership, ensure access to feminine health care, and ensure equal rights.

6. Clean Water and Sanitation

The availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation ensures safe water for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene, yet 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 6 objectives include but are not limited to: provide equal universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene, reduce water pollution, increase water-use efficiency, integrate water-resource management, and protect ecosystems dependent on water.

7. Affordable and Clean Energy 

Almost 800 million people lack access to electricity and 1/3 of the population uses dangerous cooking systems. This puts into perspective why this goal aims to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 7 objectives include but are not limited to: increase renewable energy use, improve energy use efficiency, enhance international cooperation regarding clean energy access, research, and technology, and to upgrade technology in developing countries for sustainable energy services.

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth 

Especially after the global pandemic, joblessness and unemployment is extremely prevalent, making this goal of promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and productive employment and decent work ever more important.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 8 objectives include but are not limited to: sustain economic growth, increase economic productivity, improve resource efficiency, achieve full and productive employment, increase working youth population, end forced labor, protect labor rights, promote tourism, and grant access to financial institution access for all.

9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Resilient infrastructure, inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and innovation is the objective of this sustainable development goal. Enhancing rural road connectivity, increasing research and development investment, and manufacturing high tech products helps stabilize infrastructure.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 9 objectives include but are not limited to: reliable infrastructure for all, sustainable industrialization, increased access of small-scale industries and enterprises in developing countries, rendering industries sustainable, and improving technology in all industries.

10. Reduced Inequalities 

This sustainable development goal focuses on reducing inequalities within and among countries. Income inequality, the refugee crises, and inequality indexes all show that certain areas and countries are highly more beneficial to live in than others. Living standards between countries are very unbalanced.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 10 objectives include but are not limited to: income growth for the bottom 40 percent of the population at a higher than national average rate, social, economic, and political inclusion, appropriate legislation policies to reduce inequality, wage and fiscal equality, better financial market and institution regulation, legitimate institutions that represent developing countries in global decisions, and safe migration.

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

This goal promotes making cities and human settlements safer, resilient, and sustainable through use of national urban policies, more access to public spaces, convenient public transportation, and the reduction of slums.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 11 objectives include but are not limited to: safe and affordable housing for all, safe and affordable transport for all, sustainable urbanization and human settlement planning, protect cultures around the world, protecting the poor and vulnerable from death by natural disasters, monitoring air quality and waste management to reduce negative city impact, and to provide green public space.

12. Responsible Consumption and Production 

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, as a goal, aims to reduce climate change and negative environmental impacts.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 12 objectives include but are not limited to: implementing a 10-year framework program for sustainable development and consumption, achieving sustainable management, having food waste, managing chemicals and waste in an environmentally responsible way, reduce waste, encourage company sustainable practices, sustainable public procurement practices, and providing access to relevant sustainable development and harmony with nature information.

13. Climate Action 

Climate action is a goal involving the fight against climate change and its impacts. Rising greenhouse gas emissions, an average global temperature increase, and increased spending due to climate change are all negative results of climate change.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 13 objectives include but are not limited to: being prepared for climate related disasters, integrating climate policies into national policies, and raising climate awareness.

14. Life Below Water 

The Life Below Water goal focuses on conserving and sustainably using our oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. We, as a population, rely heavily on our oceans for food, tourism, recreational activities, and global trade. In fact, 3 billion people rely on the ocean for their livelihood. However, our oceans are under severe threat. Over half of key marine biodiversity areas are unprotected, and dead zones, zones lacking oxygen to support marine life, are rising. It is thus imperative we protect our oceans better.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 14 objectives include but are not limited to: preventing marine pollution, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, minimizing ocean acidification through impact reduction, protecting the fishing market, conserving marine and coastal areas, and overfishing control.

15. Life on Land

This goal overall promotes the health of land life. It includes protecting, restoring, and promoting land ecosystems, managing forests sustainably. Combatting desertification and halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss. With many species under threat and ever-increasing biodiversity loss, it is essential we take better care of land ecosystems.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 15 objectives include but are not limited to: ensuring freshwater ecosystem health, sustainable management of forests, ensuring mountain ecosystem health, preserving natural habitats, shared benefits of genetic resource use, ending poaching and protected species trafficking, and integrating biodiversity values into national planning.

16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions 

This goal involves reducing conflict, insecurity, and weak institutions by means of promoting peace and inclusivity for sustainable development and justice for all.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 16 objectives include but are not limited to: reduce violence and death rates, end all forms of violence against children, promote law at national and international levels, reduce financial crime, reduce corruption, develop transparent institutions, developing country participation in global governance institutions, legal identity for all, and ensuring public access to information and freedom rights.

17. Partnership for the Goals

This last goal aims to help realize strong partnership and global cooperation for the SDGs.

Objectives

• SDG Goal 17 objectives include but are not limited to: enhance developing country international support, enhancing international cooperation, promote environmentally sound technologies, rule-based and equitable multilateral trading system, increase developing country exports, enhance global economic stability, and coherent sustainable development policy.

What Is the 2030 Agenda?

The 17 goals came with the adaptation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. These goals are associated with this agenda. The 2030 Agenda “is a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity,” and the goals show the dedication of the UN to this plan of action.