• Global progress and the sheer population size of India means that realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a global scale is intrinsically tied to the success of India.
• There is considerable confidence in India becoming the third largest economy in the world over the next decade.
• Translating this growth into progress in social and human development must be equally valued.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and India

• United Nations sustainable development goals framework sets targets for 231 unique indicators across 17 SDG goals.
• Goals are related to economic development, social welfare, and environmental sustainability, to be met by 2030.

India’s performance:

‘On Target’:

• India is ‘On-Target’ to meeting 14 of the 33 SDGs.
• It includes indicators such as neonatal and under-five mortality indicators, full vaccination, improved sanitation, and electricity access, all of which have substantially improved in the last five years.
• National ‘On-Target’ designation does not apply equally across all districts.
• Neonatal and under-five mortality both are ‘On-Target’ for the country, 286 and 208 districts (out of 707 districts), respectively.
• Access to improved sanitation excludes 129 districts that are not on course to meet this SDG indicator.
• Eliminating adolescent pregnancy, reducing multidimensional poverty, and women having bank accounts have improved across the majority of the districts between the years 2016 and 2021.

‘Off Target’

• For 19 of the 33 SDG indicators, the current pace of improvement is not enough to meet SDG targets.
• Despite a national policy push for clean fuel for cooking, more than two-thirds (479) of districts remain ‘Off-Target’.
• Some 415 and 278 districts are ‘Off-Target’ for improved water and handwashing facilities.
• Child Marriage: No district in India has yet succeeded in eliminating the practice of girl-child marriage before the legal age of 18 years.
• More than three-fourths (539) of districts will not be able to reduce the prevalence of girl child marriage to the SDG target of 0.5% by 2030.
• Teenage pregnancy (15-19 years) and partner violence (physical and sexual) are issues that India needs to escalate as priorities.
• Mobile phone access: Only 56% of women report owning a mobile phone, with 567 districts remaining ‘Off-Target’.

India’s “optimisation” approach

• India adopted an “optimisation” approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus, it was given the focus and resources necessary to succeed.
• There are lessons from this strategy that can inform and optimize India’s approach to its SDG targets.

Political-administrative synergy:

• Strong and sustained political leadership supported by a responsive administrative structure at all levels was critical to the success of India’s COVID-19 vaccination program and relief package.
• Creating a similar mission-oriented ethos that is assessment-oriented and which provides adequate support for accomplishing India’s district-level SDGs is now urgently needed.

Digital Infrastructure and indigenous initiatives:

• India’s success with COVID-19 was largely possible both because of the existing digital infrastructure and indigenous initiatives such as the Co-WIN data platform, and the Aarogya Setu application.
• India must put in place a coordinated, public data platform for population health management, by consolidating its many siloed platforms into an integrated digital resource for district administrators, as well as State and national policy makers.

Targeted SDG strategy:

• It must be executed with the same timeliness as India’s COVID-19 relief package.
• The Government of India had put in place the ₹1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), later augmented to nearly ₹6.29 lakh crore, which included the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (₹3.91 lakh crore until December 2022) covering 800 million people.
• Key to this relief program was a mix of spending to provide direct in-kind and economic support, as well as measures aimed at revitalizing the economy, small businesses, and agriculture.
• This was critical in blunting the adverse effects of COVID-19, especially for vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
• It also measurably demonstrated the value of a proactive, government-supported program specifically aimed at improving people’s well-being.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, India has proved that it is possible to deliver real-time response at scale in such an ambitious and comprehensive manner. To succeed in meeting its SDG targets, especially those related to population health and well-being, basic quality infrastructure, and gender equality, India needs a similar concerted, pioneering nationwide effort.