Analyze India's performance in the latest Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG) India Index. Discuss the key areas where states have
excelled and the challenges that remain in achieving the SDGs. What
strategies can be implemented to improve the overall SDG
outcomes across the country? . (600 words)
Recently, NITI Aayog has released the 4th edition of Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) India Index. The index provides a comprehensive analysis of the
performance of the states and union territories across the 16 SDG. The first
edition was released in 2018 and we had earned a score of 58 then and in the
latest edition we have improved ourselves to 71. The scores of the states
ranged between 67 to 79 and that of union territories (UT) it were around
between 57 and 77.
Kerala and Chattisgarh had performed the best under states category, scoring a
value of 79 each. While in the case of UT, Chandigarh had topped the index
with a score of 77. The four categories of SDG index are: Achiever (100), Front
runner (65-99), Performer (50-64) and Aspirant (below 49).
Front runner - In the latest edition 32 states have been categorized under this
status, compared to 22 in the previous edition. Prominent growth was visible
in the SDG 1 - No Poverty, SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth and SDG
13 - Climate action. The maximum growth was seen in SDG 13, where the score
had improved from 54 to 67.
SDG with maximum score - SDG 7 - Affordable and clean energy had scored 96
and SDG 6 - Clean water sanition had scored 89 in this edition. Also, Uttar
Pradesh was the state that showed highest improvement, with an increase of
25 points.
Though there have been improvement in a lot of areas, there are still some
challenges that remain in achieving the SDGs. Some of them are:
1. SDG 5 - Gender Equality - India has scored just 49 in this category. This
indicates that we are far behind in providing gender equality.
2. Regional disparity - Though 10 states have improved well in their
performance, there are still 4 states categorized under the performer category.
They are Jharkhand, Meghalya, Bihar and Nagaland. There are huge
performance differences among the states in our country, which will hinder
the achievement of SDG.
3. Poor Infrastructure - The SDG 9 - Investment, Infrastructre and Innovation
had scored just 61, one of the lowest scores in SDG. India needs to invest
heavily in its infrastructure and innovation technologies to meet the demands
of the growing population and also to attract private investments.
Challenges do exist in every phase of life, but so do the solutions to the
problems. A certain focus in the following criteria can help improve the SDG
outcome holistically.
1. Focus on Gender Equality - Since we have scored the least in this criteria,
coming ourselves out of this aspirant category should be the prime focus.
Providing loans at a concessional rate to budding women entreprenuers can
help them in growing their business. As most of the rural women are small
entrepreneurs, this move will help them tremendously. Remember that,
women are not just generators of employment but also facilitators of local skill
development.
2. Infrastructure and Innovation - Creating infrastructure solely by the
government is impossible. Private players should be encouraged to participate
in this sector for an exponential development. Government can provide
guarantees on behalf of reputed private players, so that the private players can
reap the benefit of favourable loan conditions likes extended moratorium,
lower interest rate.
Achievement of high GDP numbers shows only growth and not development.
SDG helps to ensure that an inclusive development is taking place
simultaneously. Hence, SDG should be given equal importance and role in any
country.
