![](https://www.nextias.com/ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/4695558Screenshot_6.png)
In News
- Recently “Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2022” was released.
- The report provides a global overview of progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Key Findings
- Meeting the deadline:
- The report states that urgent action is needed to achieve the 2030 deadline of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Global issues affecting SGDs:
- According to the report, all 17 SDGs, set at the UN General Assembly in 2015, are in jeopardy due to the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in the number of conflicts across the world.
- The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have already led to lowering of global economic growth projections by 0.9 percentage point.
- It is harming in more ways than one:
- Raising food and fuel prices
- Hampering global supplies and trade
- Roiling financial markets
- It is harming in more ways than one:
- Impacted areas:
- The “cascading and intersecting” issues impact the environment, food and nutrition, health, peace and security as well as education, according to a UN statement on the report.
- Environment:
- Greenhouse gas emissions are set to rise 14 percent over a decade, antithetical to the Paris Agreement plan — a 2025 peak followed by a 43 percent decline by 2030 and Net 2050.
- Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions shot up 6 percent, taking down gains due to COVID-19.
- Economic shocks and poverty:
- Economic shocks due to the worldwide health emergency pushed 93 million into poverty in 2020 alone, undoing “more than four years” work at alleviating poverty.
- Education and healthcare:
- It also affected the education and healthcare services for millions.
- Immunisation, for example, has dropped for the first time in a decade even as deaths from malaria and TB have risen.
- Cascading effect:
- The report also flagged threats to food security and aids, rising unemployment (especially among women) and increases in child labour as well as child marriages.
- The burden was greater on least developed countries and vulnerable population groups.
- Undoing progress:
- The report details the reversal of years of progress in eradicating poverty and hunger, improving health and education, providing basic services, and much more.
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable Development Goals
|
India’s ranking in SDGs
- India’s SDG rank is 120 (out of 192 UN Nations) on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted as a part of the 2030 agenda.
- India’s recent overall Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) score was 66 out of 100.
- Comparing with South Asian Nations:
- With the latest rankings, India is now behind all south Asian nations except Pakistan.
- The south Asian countries ahead of India are Bhutan ranked 75, Sri Lanka at 87, Nepal at 96 and Bangladesh at 109.
India’s Indices on SDGs:
- SDG India Index:
- The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates the progress of states and Union Territories (UTs) on various parameters including health, education, gender, economic growth, institutions, climate change and environment.
- The index is developed in collaboration with the United Nations in India.
- The index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in India.
- It has also fostered competition among the states and UTs by ranking them on the global goals.
- The SDG India Index scores range between 0–100, higher the score of a State/UT, the greater the distance to the target achieved.
- India’s performance:
- The country’s overall SDG score improved by 6 points — from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21 — on accounts of improvement in performance in providing facilities including clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy among others.
- While Kerala retained its rank at the top with a score of 75, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu both took the second spot with a score of 74. Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing states in this year’s India index.
- Chandigarh maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 79, followed by Delhi (68).
- SDG Urban Index:
- NITI Aayog under the Indo-German Cooperation released the inaugural SDG Urban Index in 2021–22.
- It ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework.
- It will further strengthen SDG localization and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level.
- Performance of the urban areas in India:
- Shimla tops the Index followed by Coimbatore and Chandigarh.
Way Ahead
- India’s progress towards achieving SDGs is both encouraging and challenging.
- The country has made a sincere effort to prioritize and act on sustainable development with the development of indices and the involvement of the federal machinery in achieving SDGs.
- NITI Aayog has also made this mainstream on the national agenda.
- The pandemic and overall global situation have forced India along with other countries to regress on several developmental indicators.
- India should continue its efforts toward achieving SDGs with the given resources and involving civil societies and people.
Source: TH
Previous article
Parliamentary Committees
Next article
Dalai Lama