• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was endorsed by the 193 member states of the United Nations in 2015 as a strategy for "people," "the planet," and "prosperity."
• It consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets.
• Bhopal has become the first city in India to join the growing global movement on the localization of United Nations sustainable development goals following the release of its Voluntary Local Review (VLR).

India’s Progress in SDGs

• India has made commendable efforts towards the adoption, localisation, and achievement of the SDGs.
• NITI Aayog presented India’s second VNR at the HLPF convened in 2020.
• The National Indicator Framework (NIF) contextualizes the UN''s Global Indicator Framework to reflect India''s own development experience.
• NIF was released by India''s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for the evaluation and monitoring of the SDGs
• 23 States and Union Territories have prepared a vision document based on SDGs.
• Almost all of them have initiated steps to localise the SDGs.
• However, it has taken a while to get to India’s first Voluntary Local Review at the city level since the efforts to localise the SDGs began.

Importance of Cities

• Cities are the most significant stakeholders in Agenda 2030 since, without their participation, at least 65% of the 169 targets could not be met.
• A VLR is a tool to show how local initiatives are paving the road for fair and lasting changes for people and assembling a coalition of partners to support this goal.

Flexibility to Cities

• Cities can choose how closely to match their Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) with state-level action plans and the voluntary national review (VNR) of the nation.
• Using relevant city-level data, cities can perform a quantitative assessment to determine their priority for the VLR process, or they can give a narrative about their initiatives and goals.
• Indian cities, particularly non-metro politan regions with limited ability, resources, and disaggregated data, may find it difficult to implement comprehensive VLRs spanning all SDGs.
• The National Indicator Framework (NIF) of India''s 286 indicators does not require VLRs to quantify each one.
• Depending on their goals and logistical ease, cities can choose specific SDGs for in-depth analysis.
• Cities can modify and further localise national metrics in accordance with the pertinent SDGs to represent their particular local conditions.

Bhopal’s Plan

• The Bhopal Municipal Corporation, UN-Habitat, and a group of over 23 local stakeholders worked together to create the VLR in Bhopal.
• It has mapped 56 developmental projects to the SDGs across the three pillars:
• ‘people’ (SDGs 1,3,4,5)
• ‘planet’ (SDGs 6,13,15)
• ‘prosperity’ (SDGs 7,8,11)
• The number of projects that are linked to the SDGs indicates that the city''s priorities include the development of resilient infrastructure and basic infrastructure.
• The city''s focus shifted towards developing essential infrastructure and enhancing resilience after evaluating projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• An evaluation of specific indicators related to SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) emphasized Bhopal''s commendable achievements in managing solid waste, improving public transportation, and providing ample open spaces per person.
• The analysis also revealed areas that require further attention in the future, such as:
• Ensuring adequate shelter
• Addressing elevated air pollution levels
• Enhancing city planning capabilities
• Promoting equal accessibility to open spaces
• Recognizing the significance of the Voluntary Local Review (VLR), the Mayor of Bhopal took the lead in involving the community actively in this process.

Global Examples of VLR Initiatives

• The city of Canterbury in the United Kingdom provides an example where residents and local groups formed a spontaneous coalition to conduct their own VLR.
• This coalition requested local governments to collaborate with city-level groups to promote the SDGs, with local governments serving as intermediaries in the VLR process.
• Similarly, in the global South, local governments in Dhulikhel (Nepal), Singra (Bangladesh), and Amman (Jordan) worked in a similar context as Indian cities, publishing their VLRs in 2022.

Indian cities now have a unique chance to present their work on a global stage using a framework of their choice and a vernacular of their own. To promote urban innovations and international partnerships coming out of India, hopefully, additional Indian cities would take Bhopal''s example.