Approaches to Sustainable

UNIT 4 GOALS OF SUSTAINABLE Development

DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals
4.3 Nature of Sustainable Development Goals
4.4 Conclusion
4.5 Glossary
4.6 References
4.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Describe the Millennium Development Goals;
Discuss the nature of Sustainable Development Goals; and
Examine the performance of Sustainable Development Goals in India.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight
goals that UN Member States agreed to achieve by 2015. The UN Millennium
Declaration was signed in September 2000 in which the world leaders committed
to fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation
and discrimination against women. The reference value for evaluating the success
of MDGs was 1980 levels (WHO, 2018). The MDGs have been considered as a
historic landmark in global mobilisation of resources towards the betterment of
the societies worldwide. The goals and targets were time-bound and considered
as a global report card for the fight against the varied problems the world
populations faced from 2000 to 2015.

The UN adopted a fresh set of goals at the expiry of the time period in 2015,
which were called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 192 Member
Nations of the UN pledged to the agreement of achieving the Agenda 2030.
There are 17 SDGs that will be discussed in this Unit. These goals have 169
targets in total. They were adopted due to the reason that sustainable development
had gained importance all around the globe because of the problems being faced
due to climate change. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made it imperative
that we, as humans, work towards a sustainable environment and development.
The SDGs must be achieved through integrated solution, so that the three
components-economic, social and environment, are simultaneously achieved since
they are all interrelated and interdependent. Let us now understand the nature of
MDGs and SDGs.
*
Contributed by Dr Anupama Puri Mahajan, Former Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Public
Administration, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 55
Concept of Sustainable
Development 4.2 FROM MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
GOALS TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
GOALS
The Global Development Agenda defined by the UN include eight MDGs, which
are:
1) Eradicate poverty and hunger;
2) Achieve universal primary education;
3) Promote gender equality and empower women;
4) Reduce child mortality;
5) Improve maternal health;
6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
7) Ensure environmental sustainability; and
8) Develop a global partnership for development.
In 2015, since the time period for the MDGs got over, a new agenda was
formulated for global development called Agenda 2030 and the goals were called
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are some differences between
the MDGs and SDGs, which are briefly given below:
Zero Goals: The target in the MDGs was to reach half-way, but the SDGs
have been designed for completing the job. The goals are supposed to achieve
zero level, for example, zero hunger or zero preventable child deaths.
Universal Goals: When the MDGs were decided upon, the strategy
employed was more of “rich donors aiding recipients”, but the world has
come a long way from then. The UN realised that the problems existed in
the developed nations also and the integral problem is of rising inequalities
within instead of between rich and poor countries. The SDGs cover the
targets for all nations.
Comprehensive: The SDGs are more comprehensive than MDGs, as they
are inclusive of more focal areas.
Hunger: The concerns of empowering women, mobilising everyone and
partnerships with local governments are considered, as the three pillars for
ending hunger. The SDGs have better coverage than the MDGs with respect
to gender and people’s participation at all levels.
Inclusivity:The MDGs had been formulated via a top-down process, while
the SDGs have been prepared through consultations with more than 100
countries and millions of online citizen inputs.
Hunger and Poverty: ‘Poverty’ and ‘Food and Nutrition Security’ are two
separate goals in SDGs, whereas they had been clubbed together in MDGs.
Funding:The MDGs did not have the concept of sustainability of funds and
depended on the aid from the donors from the rich developed countries.
SDGs focus on sustainability, inclusive economic development and
strengthening the countries’ revenue generation capabilities, so that they
56 can deal with their social challenges.
 Peace Building:Peace is an essential element in a society in order for it to Goals of Sustainable
Development
prosper and grow socially as well as economically. The countries that have
been governed well have economically prospered in peaceful conditions.
The SDGs have peace as a goal, whereas MDGs have not focused on it.

Data Revolution: Monitoring, evaluation and accountability are essential

for sustainable development. Another target of SDGs is to ‘increase
significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data
disaggregated by income, age, race, ethnicity and migratory status, disability,
geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts’.

Quality Education: A major goal of MDGs was to achieve universal primary

education, but they did not concern itself with the quality of education. The
SDGs, on the other hand, have progressed to focus on the quality of education
and have developed indicators to assess it.

From the above analysis of MDGs and SDGs, it is clear that SDGs are better
formulated, but this does not imply that the job is done. On the contrary, it has
just begun and till 2030, the goals have to achieved, which is a difficult task. The
world economy was facing a recession before it was hit by the pandemic COVID-
19 and now rigorous efforts will have to be made to get back on track. No one in
the present generation has seen any pandemic and there are no precedents for
them to administer safeguards against it. In 1919, Spanish Flu spread like a
pandemic across the globe. It took innumerable lives and damaged the economy
beyond repair. After 100 years, a new pandemic in Covid-19 has surfaced and
the countries have had to amend their disaster management laws to cope with
it.Most countries are now dealing with the revival of economies so that SDGs
can be focussed upon.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer
ii) Check your answer with that given at the end of the Unit.
1. Examine the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable
Development goals.
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4.3 NATURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

GOALS
This is the Anthropocene Age, that is, the human-driven age of the planet. The
human activity is pushing the capacity of global ecosystem functions, which
might result in disasters. This era is distinct because there are extreme pressures
on earth systems like the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles. There are numerous
environmental crises, which are adversely impacting the earth and population.
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Concept of Sustainable There are mass migrations and displacements of people due to disasters like
Development
submerging of islands, floods or famines. These challenges have made
international agencies to realise that the planet needs sustenance and can be saved
only with setting up of an agenda.

In 2015, the UN set up the Agenda 2030, which enumerated 17 SDGs and 169
targets to which 193 Member Nations pledged their support. They were
implemented in 2016. This Section will deal with the SDGs, with special reference
to India, according to the Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report that has
been prepared by the NITI Aayog for the UN. It is important to understand how
India is trying to achieve these goals, as it is home to one-sixth (17 per cent) of
all humanity.

India uses the approach of ‘whole of society’, which comprises of engagement

of the Union Government with all 37 sub-national governments, local
governments (over 700 districts), civil society organisations, communities and
private sector for the implementation and evaluation of the SDGs. Since the
world has entered the last decade before the end-date of 2030 regarding SDGs, it
has been called the “Decade for Action”. India is the first nation to formulate an
‘SDG India Index’, and has developed a robust ‘SDG Localisation Model’(NITI
Aayog, 2020).

Given below are the SDGs from the perspective of localising SDGs:

SDG 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The first goal, seems impossible and daunting. It is a very tough task to end
poverty in all forms everywhere by 2030. India has been successful in designing
effective strategies in an environment of diminished opportunities for livelihoods.
It has focussed on steadily increasing its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate at
8 per cent between 2018-2023, but the pandemic COVID-19 has been a major
setback. The Government has followed a multi-pronged strategy with targeted
programmes at vulnerable sections of the society by:
Developing infrastructure and support services;
Creating productive assets;
Developing skills;
Supporting entrepreneurship; and
Promoting social protection measures aimed at reducing risks from natural
and other disasters.
Given below are the measures that India is taking to gradually reduce poverty
with an aim to end it by 2030:

Social Protection and Safety Nets: National Social Assistance Programme

covers the vulnerable sections (elderly, disabled, children, women and
widows) through its flagship schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), which allows for 100 days
of work in a year per family. It increased the employment rate to about 12
per cent in the fiscal year 2019-2020. An additional INR 400 billion was
allocated for the benefit of workers in the aftermath of COVID-19.

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 Access to Basic Services:India included other parameters in the pursuit of Goals of Sustainable
Development
elimination of poverty like well-being; access to nutrition, healthcare
facilities, drinking water and sanitation; affordable housing; electricity; clean
cooking; roads and utilities. Another area that is focussed upon is financial
inclusion of the populations with no contacts with banks in order to give
them access to banking, credit, insurance and pension under schemes like
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana; and Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan
Yojana.

Strengthening Livelihood Opportunities and Skilling Ecosystem:

Agriculture is instrumental in providing livelihood to around 59 per cent of
the Indian population and is instrumental in boosting growth, creating jobs
and reducing poverty. The Government of India has pledged to work for
doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 although it seems a huge task with
consequences of pandemic to cope with in the backdrop. Some schemes
helping in this field are the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana(Prime
Minister Crop Insurance Scheme) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana (Prime Minister Irrigation Scheme). Ecosystem is being developed
for skilling to achieve more productive employment. Some initiatives taken
are:
Reorienting the skilling curriculum according to the demands of the
industry;
Creating infrastructure to promote entrepreneurship; and
Encouraging rural business models for start-ups etc.
Monitoring Progress: India monitors and evaluates its schemes and
outcomes through the SDG India Index.
The challenges in the future are regional variance, rapid urbanisation,gender
equality, education, employment and human resource development.
SDG 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition
and promote sustainable agriculture
Food security is integral to removing poverty. SDG 1 also comprises the provision
of nutritious food. 40 per cent of child-deaths occur due to under-nutrition in
India. Food security depends upon various factors like:
i) Domestic food production;
ii) Capacity to import food; and
iii) Access to food, which is dependent upon the household’s purchasing capacity.
Given below are the measures that India is taking to achieve the goal of zero
hunger:

Food Security: India has the largest Food Security Programme in the world
as a legal entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
The approach shifted from welfare to rights-based one with the passing of
the said Act. It covers two-thirds of India’s population with the senior female
member of the household’s name on the ration cards. Antyodaya Anna Yojana
(AAY) facilitates eradication of hunger.

Nutrition Security:Children in India face the issue of undernutrition 59

Concept of Sustainable resulting in stunted growth under the age of five due to problems like
Development
sanitation, genetics, environment and food intake. Some schemes helping
in this area are Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and the Scheme for
Adolescent Girls.

Agricultural Productivity: Food security depends on various factors and

the efforts to increase agricultural productivity, which will move towards
the path of doubling the farmers’ income. The growth factors are:
Improved crop productivity;
Increased livestock productivity;
Cost-effective production processes;
Increased cropping intensity;
Crop diversification;
Better prices; and
Non-farm occupations.
Monitoring: The distance to cover targets so far in India has reached 35 on
a scale of 0 to 100 on the SDG India Index.

The future challenges are the nutritional requirements of women; stunted growth
and anaemia; adaptive climate and sustainable agriculture.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-
being for all at all ages

India has made good progress in providing healthcare under the National Health
Policy, 2017. Being the largest supplier of vaccines and drugs in the world, its
vaccination programmes against diseases has been acclaimed worldwide. Special
initiatives have been launched to achieve the SDG 3. Some of them are:

Universal and Affordable Healthcare: Ayushman Bharat is a programme

that provides inclusive health care to at-risk communities and primary
healthcare without cost. Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana provides for
healthcare to 100 million vulnerable families up to INR 5 lakhs per family
per year. It has 10 million beneficiaries for cashless treatment.

Affordable Healthcare: The Government provides medicines at affordable

prices, which has considerably reduced the out of pocket expenditure of
patients.

Medical Infrastructure: The benchmark for this type of infrastructure for

doctor-patient ratio is 1:1000, whereas India has a ratio of 1:1456. To remedy
this situation, since 2014, 141 new medical colleges have been sanctioned.

Reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): India was successful in

reducing the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016 to 122 in 2015-17, which is 6.15
per cent. It has to reach the target of 70 by 2030.

Reducing Neo-natal and Under-five Mortality: The infant mortality rate

and neo-natal has considerably declined by more than 13 per cent and 8 per
cent respectively.
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 Eliminating Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases: India has Goals of Sustainable
Development
seen a decline in all communicable and non-communicable diseases like
polio (zero patients), Malaria, Tuberculosis or TB and Lymphatic Filariasis.

India ranked at 61 in the progress of SDG 3 on its SDG India Index on a scale of
0-100. It still has many challenges in all the areas like:
i) Affordability and the cost of healthcare;
ii) Health worker density; and
iii) Lack of health awareness.
The health system has now geared up with exemplary resilience to manage
COVID-19 pandemic with effective containment, treatment, surveillance and
tracking systems.

SDG 4: Quality Education – Ensure inclusive equitable quality education and

promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

‘Leaving no one behind’ is the clarion call in today’s agenda of sustainable

development. It requires human capital so that all children are able to get
secondary education. The goal is to impart affordable education of quality without
any discrimination based on caste, gender or colour. There has been an increase
in the number of schools, enrolment and retention of children in schools. Given
below are some major areas regarding the quality of education in terms of
educational outcomes, especially, in the public education sector:

Early Years: The National Early Childhood Care and Education Policy 2013
emphasises on the survival, growth and development of children, so that
they can receive pre-primary education, which is integral for school
education. Services like immunisation, growth monitoring, supplementary
nutrition, health check-ups, and referral services are provided through
Anganwadi Centres and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme.

Elementary and Secondary Education:Education was made a Fundamental

Right under The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE)
Act, 2009 for children up to 14 years. The percentage of dropouts has been
steadily decreasing, while enrolment numbers have increased but Net
Enrolment Ratio is very low at 51.77 per cent for higher secondary and
higher education levels. The government has been working tirelessly at
improving the numbers, while bringing gender parity and providing for basic
services like toilets and clean drinking water in schools.

Improved Educational Outcomes at Primary and Secondary Levels:

The modernisation of education focuses on functional literacy; numeracy;
critical and cognitive thinking skills. The number of trained teachers and
proficiency levels in language and mathematics in children has increased.

Higher Education:The number of university level institutions has grown

by 37 per cent and the number of colleges by 9 per cent over the last five
years. Gender Parity Index also increased from 92 in 2014-15 to 100 in
2018-19, which implies that women’s access to learning opportunities has
improved.

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Concept of Sustainable Skill Development and Vocational Education:A strong network of
Development
Industrial Training Institutes provide long-term skill development training
to youth. The government scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
ensures that the youth are given skill training to inculcate industry relevant
skills to secure a better livelihood.

Gender and Disability Sensitive Educational Facilities: India has been

working towards making educational facilities sensitive to the needs of
children with disabilities like making ramps; special hygiene rooms; requisite
teaching materials; so that there is an inclusive learning environment.

SDG 4 ranks 58 on the SDG India Index, which means that there is a long way to
go. India has to work on improving the quality of education to enter the ranks of
major global university rankings.

SDG 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls

The Constitution of India talks of equality of gender as one of its principles.

India has worked at a fast pace to reduce the gender gap for the past five years.
Given below are the efforts that have been made to achieve SDG 5:

Social Protection and Livelihoods: Women’s economic participation is

integral to social protection and livelihood. It is being powered through
new technologies and skill development with schemes like MNREGA, which
states that women must comprise of 33 per cent of the beneficiaries of gainful
employment. The Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (National Rural Livelihoods
Mission) aims to mobilise and organise women, build their skills, make
credit easily accessible and make them aware of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
India has 10 million bank-linked SHGs with 87.66 per cent women being a
part of it.

Skilling and Financial Inclusion:The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana

has been instrumental in strengthening financial inclusion as 54 per cent of
the bank accounts opened have been of women. 97 per cent of women have
been enrolled in long-term skill development courses.

Political and Economic Participation: Representation is steadily increasing

although it is low. It increased from 11.4 per cent in 2014 to 14.4 per cent in
2019. More women are participating in the voting process and it has increased
to 68 per cent, more than men.

Social Empowerment:The Girl Child Ratio has been dropping, which is

matter of worry. Awareness campaigns are going on to reverse this trend
like The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save and Educate the Girl Child).

The SDG 5 ranks 42 on the SDG India Index. India needs to gear up and do
better in the areas given below:
i) Strengthening gender-based data systems;
ii) Access to resources with respect to rural and urban women;
iii) Promoting women’s entrepreneurship; and
iv) Improving economic participation of women.
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SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable Goals of Sustainable
Development
management of water and sanitation for all

India has 4 per cent of the world’s fresh water resources, whereas it has 17 per
cent of its population. The demand for water will be doubled by 2030. While
sanitation battle is being fought since many years, many children under 5 years
of age have died due to water-borne diseases. India has been declared open
defecation free, but it is a continuous struggle. Given below are measures being
taken regarding SDG 6:
Safe and Affordable Drinking Water for all: A new and unified Ministry
of Jal Shakti has been constituted to ascertain governance of water and its
challenges. About 96 per cent of households have access to safe drinking
water. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (campaign) is working for water conservation,
rain water harvesting and renovation of water bodies.
Water Quality: Ground and surface water issues are being tackled by a
multi-pronged strategy by the Central Water Commission. The rivers are
being cleaned because of contamination.
Sanitation and Hygiene for all: The flagship initiative of the Swachh Bharat
Mission has focussed on constructing 109 million household and community
toilets. The numbers of toilets have increased from 88.8 per cent to 97.22
from 2017 to 2019.
India stands at 88 rank for SDG 6 on the SDG India Index. India has to deal with
challenges like localised data systems on water; maintenance of gendered access
to toilets; re-skilling of sanitation workers and their targeted improvement; and
sustaining the sanitation behaviour changes against open defecation.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all
The SDG 7 aims at universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. It aims
at enhancing energy efficiency. India’s energy mix is being diversified by widening
the renewable choices like solar, wind, hydro and waste-to-energy conversion.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya (Each
house gets electricity), nearly all households in India’s 603,175 villages have
been electrified. Given below are the measures that India has been taking to
achieve SDG 7:
Universal Access to Electricity: Reliable, affordable and continuous
electricity supply is being aimed at via structural reforms in which supply
codes and performance standards; regulation and financial restructuring of
power distribution companies are being enforced. India has jumped ranks
from 137 in 2014 to 22 in 2019 on the Ease-of-Doing-Business on the
parameter of ‘getting electricity’.
Renewable Energy: The renewable energy installed capacity has increased
by about 75 per cent from 2014 to 2020 and India has pledged to a 40 per
cent of its energy to be renewable at the Climate Action Summit hosted by
the UN Secretary General in 2019.
Clean Energy-Cooking Energy: The percentage of clean cooking energy
in households has increased from 63 per cent in 2015 to 96 per cent in 2018.
Several programmes have been implemented to facilitate it. 63
Concept of Sustainable Energy Efficiency: The government has enforced standards and labelling
Development
to target household appliances that reduce household power consumption.
The wide supply of LPG cylinders to low-income households has
considerably helped in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

Strengthening International Cooperation: India is leading the search for

renewable energy solutions, for example, signing an agreement with
Germany on technical cooperation. India has spearheaded the establishment
of International Solar Alliance with France to work on innovative policies,
financial instruments and capacity building measures in enhancing solar
energy programmes.

India has ranked 70 on the SDG India Index for SDG 7. Its challenges are to
achieve low-carbon energy security; domestic technology development and
manufacturing capacity augmentation in order to make energy more affordable.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained, inclusive

and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent
work for all

India has the third largest entrepreneurship ecosystem in the world as a key pillar
of the economic prosperity strategy. Economic growth is one of the key
components of sustainable development and India’s economy has been growing
at 7 per cent since 2014, However, the pandemic has put a halt to that, as it has to
the entire global economic growth. Given below are the steps being taken
regarding the achievement of the SDG 8:
Funding Small Enterprises: Start-up India is a flagship scheme of the
Government of India to drive economic growth and generate large-scale
employment opportunities. Procedure simplification and funding support
have eased opening up of companies. The Micro Units Development and
Refinance Scheme (MUDRA) scheme provides financial support to small
and micro enterprise sector.
Structural Reforms:Many structural reforms have been taken to reach closer
to the goal of ‘decent work’ like:
i) The enactment of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which
simplifies procedures related to debt default and boost credit availability;
ii) Corporate tax has been reduced; and
iii) Goods and Services Tax Act, 2016 has been enacted to reduce the
manufacturing cost and subsume a number of indirect taxes resulting in
lower consumer prices.
Ease of Doing Business: India launched its Make-in-India Programme not
to attract foreign investors but to manufacture in India in 2014. It has helped
in boosting jobs and economy. It was initiated by making regulatory process
simple and eliminating obsolete laws. India ranks 63 on the Ease of Doing
Business Index (2019).
Decent Work and Labour Welfare: 40 Central Acts and multiple State
Level Acts promote labour rights, and make sure that the workplaces are
safe and secure for workers.
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 Skilling Ecosystem: Approximately 33 per cent of India’s population is Goals of Sustainable
Development
young (15-24 years), hence India launched the ‘Skill India” programme in
2015, which focuses on short-term vocational education. This has led to an
increase in the monthly wages.

India ranks 64 on the SDG India Index for SDG 8, which implies that it has to
work hard to overcome challenges regarding SDG 8. Some of the major challenges
of this SDG are:
i) Increasing agricultural productivity;
ii) Creating alternate channels of employment;
iii) Improving the existing 77.7 per cent literacy rate;
iv) Bettering health indicators like mortality rate, life-expectancy, etc.
v) Formalising the labour system, so that there is more coverage of labour
protection under laws.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure,
promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation; and foster innovation

India considers industrialisation as an effective means through which higher

prosperity is achieved with minimum impact on the environment. It is possible
with innovation and modern infrastructure, which ensure sustainable development.
Given below are the main initiatives being taken to achieve SDG 9 in India:

Ease of Doing Reforms: More than 7000 reforms have been taken to simplify
government processes to save time and costs and ease the burden on
businesses; thereby improving India’s Ease-of-Doing-Business rank from
79 places to 63 in 2019.

Design and Innovation Ecosystem: The share of expenditure on research

and development (R&D) has increased by 11 per cent in 2017-18 from 3.52
in 2015-16. The number of designs to be patented has increased by a large
number. India is engaged in active R&D cooperation with 44 countries.

Start-up Ecosystem: Start-ups conduct innovative and untested business

activities, which become extremely lucrative and useful in time. They need
support to identify, nurture and accelerate new start-ups.

Infrastructure Development: Infrastructure development is essential for

the economy to grow. India launched the Bharatmala Programme to build
roads through corridors, feeder routes, corridor efficiency improvement and
international connectivity. There has been an increase of 17 kms per day
road construction in 2014-15 to 29.7 kms per day in 2018-19. Also, the
cargo handling capacity of the 13 major ports is an 89 per cent increase.

Telecommunications: Communication technologies have to be of first grade

regarding connectivity and internet speed. India has managed to launch 5G
and increase its network of cables for internet and telephone links.

The pandemic has put breaks on the rapid economic growth that India had been
making. India ranks 65 on the SDG India Index and has to improve to reach the
targets of SDG 9 like:
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Concept of Sustainable i) Growth of industrial production to meet sustainable industrial development
Development
targets; and
ii) Addressing industrial waste water management.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequities – reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG 10 aims at equality in all dimensions in areas of income, gender, social,

political and economic. It drives countries to have enhanced representation and
voice for developing countries in decision-making in international institutions.
India has a strong legal framework to check any inequities, but the reality is
somewhat away from the target. Many initiatives and steps are being taken to
deal with the issues to achieve SDG 10, which are given below in brief:

Promoting Income Growth: Income generation among the vulnerable

sections of the society will bring them closer to the mainstream economy.
MNREGA helps in giving assured employment, while there are many other
schemes under which beneficiaries are getting cash deposits in their bank
accounts through the direct benefit transfer system based on AADHAR
(Unique Identification Number).

Promoting Equality of Opportunities and Outcomes: There has been a

decrease in dropout rates in schools and gender disparity has impacted the
Gender Disparity Index. Education for all is important for creating equal
opportunities for everyone regardless of caste or gender.

Designing Specialised Development Programmes: Many programmes

have been launched to target groups of vulnerable sections of the society to
reduce inequities like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao; Support to Training and
Employment Programme for Women (STEP) and Deendayal Disabled
Rehabilitation Scheme for persons with disabilities.

Social Protection Measures: Social protection including health and

education, in the form of pensions to vulnerable sections is being given
through many schemes.

Financial Inclusion:The number of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) has been

increasing in India with the mobilisation of 6.1 million rural women into
entrepreneurship-based SHGs.

Promoting Sustainable Migration and a Migrant-friendly Support

System: There is a gap between the quantitative and qualitative aspects of
labour supply and demand. Migrant workers face many problems because
of market uncertainties and now specifically with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SDG India Index ranks SDG 10 at 64 implying a lot of work that needs to be
done to reduce inequities in the society. The areas that need attention to achieve
SDG 10 are:

i) Better data sets disaggregated by gender, social category, income levels,

religion and region.

ii) The elderly, which is 8.6 per cent of the India’s population, need social
protection and measures.
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iii) Public service delivery of goods and services need better governance and Goals of Sustainable
Development
implementation.

iv) Better managed urban basic services systems, development of diverse and
remunerative livelihood systems.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
The Government of India through its various schemes, missions, programmes
and initiatives that are in tune with SDG 11 promotes inclusive and sustainable
urbanisation, as well as aims to develop capacities for participatory, integrated
and sustainable human settlement planning and management. The initiatives being
taken by the Government of India for SDG 11 are:
Housing for all: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (urban housing) ensures
in-situ slum redevelopment, credit linked subsidy scheme and partnership
with private sector. By the end of Financial Year 2019-20, out of the demand
of 11.2 million housing, 3.2 million houses have been completed.
Sustainable Urbanisation and Mobility: The National Urban Transport
policy focuses on environment-friendly sustainable transport along with non-
motorised transport innovations. The Sustainable Urban Transport Project
is also being implemented in select cities for the promotion of sustainable
transport. Disaster risk resilient cities and energy conservation building codes
are being followed.
SDG 11 ranks at 53 on the SDG India Index. The challenges that need special
focus to achieve the targets of this goal are:
i) Weak capacity of urban local bodies – their financial autonomy, taxation
powers and fund generation capabilities;
ii) Air pollution;
iii) Large cities have larger ecological footprints; and
iv) Congestion and interlinked problems.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns
Resource use efficiency, green employment, equitable access to basic services
and better quality of life are integral to sustainable consumption and production.
India has supported the ten-year framework of Programme on Sustainable
Consumption and Production (10YFP). Given below are some initiatives that
are being taken to achieve SDG 12:
Sustainable Food Systems: Agriculture productivity has been focussed upon
under programmes like Soil Health Cards and the National Mission on
Sustainable Agriculture. Climate smart agriculture is a part of the solution
while, surface and rainwater harvesting are being developed and promoted.
Resource Efficiency: India, the second largest consumer of materials, is
focussing upon augmenting resource efficiency and increasing the use of
secondary raw materials to decouple growth from environmental impacts.
The National Resource Efficiency Policy includes four important elements:
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Concept of Sustainable i) Sustainable consumption of virgin resources;
Development
ii) High material productivity with efficient circular approaches;
iii) Minimisation of waste; and
iv) Creation of employment opportunities.
Sustainable Construction and Buildings: Green building and construction
principles is the trend now and India ranks third (2018) on the global listing
of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The government
has established the Green Rating for Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), and the
Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC).
Public Procurement:Public organisations have employed environmental
energy efficiency criteria in their procurement decisions.
Sustainable Tourism:In 2019, tourism accounted for 8.1 per cent of all
employment. However, 2020-21 years can be written off as the pandemic
years. India has still operationalised the Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism
Criteria for tour operators, accommodation and beaches; and backwaters,
lakes and rivers.
Waste Management:India has adopted a sustainable development
framework based on ‘precaution’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles.
SDG 12 ranks 55 on the SDG India Index. The challenges and way forward
include the following:
i) Sustainable supply chain;
ii) Sustainable waste management because of population growth; and
iii) Stop waste of food produced (40 per cent of food goes waste according to
the Food and Agricultural Organisation)
SDG 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change and
its impacts
India is ranked among the top 10 countries in the Climate Change Performance
Index 2020 on account of low levels of per capita emissions and energy use, as
well as ‘well-below-2oC’ renewable energy targets. India is taking the following
measures:
i) Climate action in Policies, Strategies and Planning;
ii) Fulfilling global responsibilities;
iii) Generating clean energy;
iv) Reducing emission intensity; and
v) Improving disaster risk reduction and preparedness.
SDG 13 ranks 60 on the SDG India Index. India must address the issues of:
i) Disaster resilience;
ii) Green technologies; and
iii) Meeting energy needs.
SDG 14–Life below Water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas
and marine resources for sustainable development
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India regularly monitors possible pollution by oil, sea cargo, sewage and garbage, Goals of Sustainable
Development
as well as air pollution by ships. Given below are the efforts being made regarding
SDG 14:
i) Containing marine pollution;
ii) Conserving mangroves and coral reefs;
iii) Protecting marine and coastal ecosystems; and
iv) Promoting sustainable marine fishing.
SDG 14 ranks between 23 and 65 on the SDG India Index for its nine coastal
states. The challenges and the way forward include the following major points:
i) Improving sustainability across the shoreline for maintenance of fish
catchments;
ii) Scaling up of sustainability practices in fishing around the Indian coast;
iii) Finding markets at international level in fish operations by upgrading
certification, auditing and labelling;
iv) Enhancing and facilitating timely finances; and
v) Addressing the problem of indebtedness of fishermen due to adoption of
mechanised boats.
SDG 15: Life on Land

The SDG 15 focuses to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat diversification and halt and
reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. The government has primarily
adopted three strategies for conservation, development and management of forests
– afforestation through natural and artificial regeneration, protection and
management. The government is upscaling its efforts in:
i) Managing forests;
ii) Conserving wetlands and water bodies;
iii) Protecting wildlife;
iv) Combating desertification; and
v) Conserving biodiversity.
SDG 15 ranks at 66 on the SDG India Index. India needs to focus on areas like
green industrialisation choices; skill development for geo-ecological zones; and
long-term programmes for saving of endangered faunal species.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

SDG 16 focuses on the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for

sustainable development, provision of access to justice for all and building
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. India is working in
the areas of:
i) Reducing violence;
ii) Access to justice;
iii) Accountable and transparent institutions;
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Concept of Sustainable iv) Ethics in governance; and
Development
v) Legal identity for all.
SDG 16 ranks at 72 on the SDG India Index. The government must take more
proactive steps in areas of upgrading data concerning offences and violence;
digitisation of the society in all areas; and data privacy and security.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

India is working towards strengthening the means of implementation and
revitalisation of global partnership for sustainable development. The areas of
focus are:
i) Augmenting domestic resource mobilisation;
ii) Improving public expenditure;
iii) Promoting entrepreneurship and private sector;
iv) Strengthening the south-south cooperation;
v) Coalition-based approach; and
vi) Improving data, monitoring and accountability.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. What are Sustainable Development Goals? Discuss the features of SDG 1 to
SDG 5 and explain the efforts that India is making to achieve them.
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2. Write a short note on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
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3. Describe SDGs 7, 8, 9 and 10 with special reference to India.
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4. Briefly discuss SDGs 11 to 17 in context of India. Goals of Sustainable
Development
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4.4 CONCLUSION
SDGs in a pandemic hit world assume even more importance to combat the
problems of health and economy. International cooperation among countries is
essential to move together globally towards 2030 although each country has to
face specific individual challenges.Technology and science are making new leaps
everyday, which necessitate building institutional capacities of governments for
proper governance of frontier technologies. India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva
Katumbhkam, meaning that ‘the world is one’ is depicted in the SDGs. The
approaches and interventions to ‘leave no one behind’ are crucial to India’s
implementation of SDGs. Recognising this, the country has consciously adopted
a paradigm shift from a ‘whole of government’ to ‘a whole of society’ approach
by engaging all key stakeholders. This Unit discussed all the Sustainable
Development Goals in detail.

4.5 GLOSSARY
Anthropocene Age:This is the Anthropocene Age, that is, the human-driven age
of the planet. The human activity is pushing the capacity of global ecosystem
functions, which could result in disasters.

Decade for Action: Since the world has entered the last decade before the end-
date of 2030 regarding SDGs, it has been called the “Decade for Action”.

Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme: The umbrella Central Sector

Scheme of this Ministry called the “Scheme to Promote Voluntary Action for
Persons with Disabilities” was revised w.e.f. 01.04.2003 and was renamed as the
“Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)”. However, while revision
of the Scheme took place in 2003, the cost norms of 1999 had remained
unchanged. The revision of the cost norms has become imperative to compensate
for the price rise. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Industrial workers has
risen by 38 per cent from 1999 to 2007. It has been decided to revise the cost
norms for honoraria, recurring items and nonrecurring items of expenditure. The
Scheme has also been revised to the extent that there has been widening of the
scope of the model projects.
Objectives of this Scheme are as follows:
Create an enabling environment to ensure equal opportunities, equity, social
justice and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Encourage voluntary action for ensuring effective implementation of the
People with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities and Protection of Rights) Act
of 1995. 71
Concept of Sustainable ICDS: The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme was launched
Development
with the objectives to: i) improve the nutritional and health status of children in
the age-group 0-6 years; ii) lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical
and social development of the child; iii) reduce the incidence of mortality,
morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout; iv) achieve effective co-ordination
of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child
development; and v) enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal
health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health
education.

In order to achieve these objectives, a package of six services namely:

i) Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), ii)   immunisation, iii) health check-up, iv)
referral services, v) pre-school non-formal education and vi) nutrition & health
education were initiated.

MGNREGA: It was initiated with the objective of “enhancing livelihood security

in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in
a financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do
unskilled manual work”. Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets
(such as roads, canals, ponds, wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km
of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not
provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment
allowance. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.

National Food Security Act 2013: It aims to ensure food security in India,
chiefly by providing cereals at subsidised prices through the Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS) for about two-thirds of households.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): The government came out with
this PMJDY scheme to install a framework of financial inclusion that incentivises
people to move into the formal credit system. Provision of Zero Balance Account
and facilities such as RuPay Cards have been quite a popular boost for the lower-
strata of people. Objectives of PM Jan-Dhan Yojana are to:
Cover all households in the country with banking facilities, and opening a
bank account for each household.
Provide an integrated framework of formal credit to the citizens.
Ensure the transfer of subsidies through the Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) mode in a single place.
Offer various kinds of banking services like the basic savings bank account,
remittances facility, insurance, and pension to the unbanked population.
Expand the net of financial security for the population.
Promote financial inclusion within the nation.
Provide micro-insurance facilities to the people.
Create a Credit Guarantee Fund to cover the defaults in overdraft accounts.
Establish a direct connection between the government and the unbanked
population, thus eliminating the need for money-lenders and middle-men.
Promote the habit of saving among individuals.

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 Embark on a journey of financial literacy programme to let people know Goals of Sustainable
Development
about the financial services being offered by the country’s banking system.
Provide banking services and banking outlets within 5 KM distance of every
village.
Ensure the accessibility of financial products at an affordable cost.
Inculcate financial technology into the banking system by roping in e-KYC,
IMPS etc.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) : The new Crop Insurance
Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme. It incorporates the best
features of all previous schemes and at the same time, all previous shortcomings
/ weaknesses have been removed. The PMFBY will replace the existing two
schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified
National Agricultural Insurance Scheme. The objectives of Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana are to:
Provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event
of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests
and diseases.
Stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
Encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
Ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana: It was launched in the year 2016 by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the other provisions of the Taxation
Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016. It came into effect from 17th December
2016 under the Ministry of Finance.  

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana:The overreaching vision of this Yojana

is to ensure access to some means of protective irrigation to all agricultural farms
in the country, to produce ‘per drop more crop’, thus bringing much desired rural
prosperity. The objectives of the scheme are:
Achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level
(preparation of district level and, if required, sub-district level water use
plans).
Enhance the physical access of water on the farm and expand cultivable
area under assured irrigation (Har Khet ko Pani).
Integration of water source, distribution and its efficient use, to make best
use of water through appropriate technologies and practices.
Improve on - farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage and increase
availability both in duration and extent.
Enhance the adoption of precision - irrigation and other water saving
technologies (More Crop per Drop).
Enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation
practices.
Ensure the integrated development of rainfed areas using the watershed
approach towards soil and water conservation, regeneration of ground water,
arresting run off, providing livelihood options and other activities.
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Concept of Sustainable Promote extension activities relating to water harvesting, water management
Development
and crop alignment for farmers and grass root level field functionaries.
Explore the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri -
urban agriculture.
Attract greater private investments in irrigation.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana : It is a Maternity Benefit Programme

that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the
provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013 with the following objectives
:
Providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives
so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the
first living child.
The cash incentive provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour
amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.

4.6 REFERENCES
WHO. (2019).Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved from https://
www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/en/
NITI Aayog. (2020). India VNR, Decade of Action – Taking SGDs from Global
to Local.New Delhi, India: NITI Aayog.
The Hunger Project. (2015). Open Working Group on Sustainable Development
Goals. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_
goals/en/

4.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
Zero goals
Universal goals
Comprehensive
Hunger
Inclusivity
Hunger and poverty
Funding
Peace building
Data revolution
Quality education
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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 SDG Localisation Model Goals of Sustainable
Development
Voluntary National Review
SDG 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security, improve
nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensure healthy lives and promote
well-being for all at all ages.
SDG 4: Quality Education – Ensure inclusive equitable quality education
and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls
2. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all:
- Safe and Affordable Drinking Water
- Water Quality
- Sanitation and Hygiene
3. Your answer should include the following points:
Efforts made by India to achieve the SDGs
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable,
reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained,
inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient
infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and
foster innovation.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequities – reduce inequality within and among
countries.
4. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns.
SDG 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change
and its impacts.
SDG 14 – Life below water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans,
seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
SDG 15: Life on Land.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

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