WHAT ARE THE SDGs?

(Page 1)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established by the United Nations in 2015 as a
universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030.
These 17 goals provide a comprehensive framework for addressing global challenges,
encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The SDGs build on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), expanding their scope and emphasizing the
importance of sustainable financial practices.

The economic perspective is crucial in understanding the SDGs because economic growth and
sustainability are deeply intertwined. Sustainable development can drive economic prosperity,
while economic activities have significant impacts on social and environmental outcomes. This
project will explore the economic implications of key SDGs, providing detailed analyses and
examples of how integrating these goals into economic policies can lead to long-term benefits. A
specific focus will be placed on India's progress and challenges in achieving the SDGs, offering
insights into the practical application of these goals in a developing economy.

History of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Page 2-3)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a global commitment to address a wide
range of social, economic, and environmental challenges. The history of the SDGs can be traced
back to several key milestones:

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The precursor to the SDGs, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), were established in
2000 during the United Nations Millennium Summit. The MDGs comprised eight goals aimed at
addressing extreme poverty, hunger, disease, and other pressing issues by 2015. Significant
progress was made in areas such as reducing extreme poverty by half, increasing primary school
enrollment, and improving health outcomes.

Rio+20 Conference
The journey towards the SDGs began in earnest at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, also known as Rio+20, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. During this conference,
world leaders recognized the need for a broader set of goals to continue and expand upon the
progress of the MDGs.

Formation of the SDGs

In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly established an Open Working Group tasked with
developing a set of Sustainable Development Goals. This group engaged in extensive
consultations with various stakeholders, including governments, civil society, the private sector,
and experts worldwide. The inclusive and participatory process ensured that the goals reflected a
wide range of perspectives and priorities.

Adoption of the SDGs

On September 25, 2015, during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, world
leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 Sustainable
Development Goals and 169 targets. This ambitious agenda aims to end poverty, protect the
planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. The SDGs address a broader scope of issues
compared to the MDGs, incorporating economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental
sustainability.

Key Features of the SDGs

● Universal: The SDGs apply to all countries, regardless of their development status,
promoting a shared responsibility for global progress.
● Integrated: The goals recognize the interconnectedness of social, economic, and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
● Inclusive: The SDGs emphasize leaving no one behind and addressing the needs of the
most vulnerable populations.

Progress and Challenges

Since their adoption, countries have made varying degrees of progress towards achieving the
SDGs. Challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and geopolitical tensions
continue to hinder progress. However, the SDGs provide a comprehensive framework for
countries to align their policies and actions towards a sustainable future.

The history of the SDGs reflects a global commitment to building a better world, underscoring
the importance of collective action and international cooperation in addressing the complex
challenges facing humanity.

Eradicating Poverty: SDG 1 (No Poverty) [Page 4]

SDG 1, also known as No Poverty, is the foundation for all other Sustainable Development
Goals. It aims to create a world where everyone has the resources they need to live a healthy and
fulfilling life. Poverty isn't just about a lack of money; it's about limited access to education,
healthcare, sanitation, and other necessities.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 1 and its specific goals by 2030:

● Eradicate extreme poverty: This means ensuring everyone, everywhere, earns enough
to cover basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare. The target is to reduce the
proportion of people living on less than $1.90 a day to zero by 2030.
● Reduce poverty in all its dimensions: Poverty isn't just about income. It also includes
limited access to education, healthcare, sanitation, and social protection. By 2030, the
goal is to at least halve the proportion of people living in poverty according to national
definitions.

Zero Hunger: A Look at SDG 2 [Page 5]

Imagine a world where everyone has access to enough safe and nutritious food to live a healthy
and active life. That's the vision behind SDG 2: Zero Hunger. This goal tackles the issues of
hunger and malnutrition, aiming to create a sustainable food system for all.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 2 and its specific goals by 2030:

● End hunger and achieve food security: This means ensuring everyone, everywhere, has
access to enough nutritious food all year round. It involves improving food production
and distribution systems to prevent hunger, especially among children.
● End all forms of malnutrition: Malnutrition refers to a lack of essential nutrients. This
goal aims to address all forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition (not getting
enough calories) and micronutrient deficiencies (lack of essential vitamins and minerals).
● Sustainable agriculture: Feeding a growing population requires efficient food
production practices. This goal promotes sustainable agriculture that increases
productivity, protects the environment, and improves soil health.

Healthy Lives and Wellbeing for All: Understanding SDG 3 [Page 6]

Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting
well-being for all people of all ages. This ambitious goal recognizes that good health is essential
for a thriving society and underpins many other SDGs.

Here's a closer look at SDG 3 and its specific targets to be achieved by 2030:
 ● Reduce maternal mortality: Tragically, many women around the world face
complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This target aims to reduce the global
maternal mortality ratio significantly.
● Mental health: Mental health is an important aspect of overall well-being. This target
aims to strengthen mental health services and promote well-being.
● Substance abuse: Substance abuse can have devastating consequences. This target aims
to significantly reduce the harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs.

Quality Education for All: Unveiling SDG 4 [Page 7]

Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality
education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Education is a powerful tool for
empowering people, reducing poverty, and creating a more sustainable future.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 4 and its specific goals to be achieved by 2030:

● Free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education: This target aims to
ensure all children, regardless of gender or background, have access to quality primary
and secondary education that leads to meaningful learning outcomes.
● Literacy and numeracy skills: Literacy and numeracy are fundamental skills. This
target focuses on ensuring all adults, youth and children have relevant skills for
employment, decent work, and participation in society.

Empowering Women and Girls: Understanding SDG 5 [Page 8]

Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering
all women and girls.

Here's a closer look at SDG 5 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● End all discrimination against women and girls: Everyone deserves equal
opportunities, regardless of gender. This target focuses on eliminating all forms of
discrimination against women and girls in all areas of life.
● Eliminate violence against women and girls: This target aims to eliminate all forms of
violence against women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking,
sexual, and other forms of exploitation.
 ● Increase women's participation in leadership: Women's voices and perspectives are
crucial for decision-making. This target aims to ensure women's full and effective
participation in decision-making at all levels.

Clean Water and Sanitation for All: Unveiling SDG 6 [Page 9]

Imagine a world where everyone has access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. That's
the vision behind SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All. This goal recognizes that water is
essential for life and sanitation is a human right.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 6 and its specific targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Universal access to safe and affordable drinking water: This target aims to ensure
everyone, everywhere, has access to clean drinking water for personal and domestic use.
● Access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene: This target focuses on
ensuring everyone has access to safe and affordable sanitation facilities and hygiene
practices.
● Sustainable water management: Water is a precious resource. This target focuses on
implementing sustainable water management practices, including protecting water-related
ecosystems.

Powering a Sustainable Future: Understanding SDG 7 [Page 10]

Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) focuses on ensuring access to affordable, reliable,

sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Here's a closer look at SDG 7 and its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Universal access to electricity: This target aims to ensure everyone, everywhere, has
access to affordable and reliable electricity.

● Increase renewable energy: SDG 7 promotes a shift towards renewable energy sources
like solar, wind, and geothermal power. This target focuses on substantially increasing the
share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

● Improve energy efficiency: Using energy more efficiently reduces waste and saves
money. This target aims to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

Decent Work and Economic Growth: Understanding SDG 8 [Page 11]

Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) focuses on promoting decent work and economic
growth for all.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 8 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Sustain economic growth: This target aims to achieve sustainable economic grow th by
diversifying economies and promoting technological innovation.
● Decent work for all: Everyone deserves the opportunity to find decent work that
provides a fair wage, security, and equal opportunities for advancement. This target
focuses on promoting policies that support decent work creation and equal pay for equal
work.

Building for the Future: Understanding SDG 9 [Page 12]

Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9) focuses on industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

Here's a closer look at SDG 9 and its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Develop sustainable infrastructure: This target aims to invest in quality, sustainable,

resilient, and affordable infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and clean energy
networks.
● Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization: This target focuses on promoting
efficient industries, using resources sustainably, and creating decent jobs.
● Foster innovation: Technological innovation is key to solving global challenges. This
target aims to encourage scientific research, technological innovation, and
capacity-building in all countries.

Reduced Inequalities: Unveiling SDG 10 [Page 13]

Sustainable Development Goal 10 (SDG 10) focuses on reducing inequality within and among
countries. This goal recognizes that tackling inequality is essential for a peaceful, prosperous,
and sustainable future.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 10 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Reduce income inequality: This target aims to progressively reduce the proportion of
income going to the richest 10% of the population, and increase the share of income
received by the bottom 40%.
● Empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all: Everyone
deserves equal opportunities, regardless of background. This target focuses on promoting
 policies that ensure equal access to economic resources, basic services, and
decision-making processes.
● Promote decent work for all: Decent work opportunities are key to reducing income
inequality. This target is linked to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) which
focuses on creating quality jobs and equal opportunities for all.

Sustainable Cities and Communities: Understanding SDG 11 [Page 14]

Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) focuses on making cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Here's a closer look at SDG 11 and its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Safe and affordable housing: This target aims to ensure everyone has adequate, safe,
and affordable housing and basic services, and upgrade slum settlements.

● Sustainable transport: Transportation systems have a big impact on the environment

and quality of life. This target focuses on providing access to safe, affordable, accessible,
and sustainable transport systems for all.

● Inclusive and sustainable urbanization: Cities should offer opportunities for all. This
target aims to support positive economic, social, and environmental links between urban,
peri-urban, and rural areas.

Sustainable Consumption and Production: Understanding SDG 12 [Page 15]

Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) focuses on ensuring sustainable consumption and
production patterns.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 12 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Halve global per capita food waste: This target aims to reduce food waste generated
throughout the entire food production and supply chain, including at the retail and
consumer levels.
● Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources: This
target focuses on implementing practices that reduce our reliance on these resources and
protect the environment.
 ● Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption
and Production: This framework is a global strategy for promoting sustainable practices.
This target focuses on integrating these principles into national policies and strategies.

Taking Action on Climate Change: Understanding SDG 13 [Page 16]

Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) focuses on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts.

Here's a closer look at SDG 13 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards: This target

aims to help countries prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as
extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and changes in precipitation patterns.

● Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning:
To effectively address climate change, it needs to be a consideration in all aspects of
development planning. This target focuses on incorporating climate action strategies into
national policies and programs.

Dive into SDG 14: Life Below Water [Page 17]

SDG 14 aims to protect our oceans and ensure they can continue to support us for generations to
come.

Here's a look at SDG 14 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Reduce marine pollution: This target focuses on significantly reducing all forms of
pollution, especially from land-based activities, including marine debris, nutrient
pollution, and pollution from hazardous substances.
● Protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems: This target focuses on effectively
conserving and managing marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse
impacts, and to restore them to a healthy state by 2030.

Protecting Life on Land: Understanding SDG 15 [Page 18]

Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting
the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

Here's a breakdown of SDG 15 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:
 ● Halt deforestation and restore forests: This target aims to end deforestation and
significantly reduce forest degradation while promoting the conservation, restoration, and
sustainable management of all types of forests.

● Combat desertification and restore degraded land: This target focuses on taking
urgent action to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land
affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land
degradation-neutral world.

● Combat biodiversity loss: This target aims to ensure the conservation, restoration, and
sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
international agreements.

SDG 16: Building Peaceful and Inclusive Societies [Page 19]

Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development.

Here's a closer look at SDG 16 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Significantly reduce all forms of violence: This target aims to create societies where
violence of all kinds is significantly reduced. This includes everything from domestic
violence to war.

● Promote the rule of law: This target focuses on developing effective, accountable, and
transparent institutions at all levels.

● Access to justice for all: Everyone deserves to have their legal rights protected. This
target aims to ensure equal access to justice for all, regardless of background or income
level.

Revitalizing Partnerships for Sustainable Development: Understanding SDG 17

[Page 20]

Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17) is all about strengthening partnerships for the
goals. It recognizes that achieving the other 16 SDGs requires a collaborative effort from
everyone – governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and individuals.
Here's a breakdown of SDG 17 and some of its key targets to be achieved by 2030:

● Mobilize financial resources: Implementing sustainable development solutions requires

significant investment. This target focuses on mobilizing financial resources from all
sources to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
● Promote knowledge sharing: This target focuses on promoting a universal
multi-stakeholder approach to ensure the implementation, monitoring, and review of the
Sustainable Development Goals at all levels.
● Policy coherence: For sustainable development to succeed, different policies need to
work together. This target focuses on policy coherence for sustainable development.

CASE STUDY (INDIA AND ITS PROGRESS ON SDGs) (Page 21)

India has made significant strides towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Below is an overview of India's progress on each of the 17 SDGs: (Pages 22-23)

SDG 1: No Poverty
According to the NITI discussion paper, multidimensional poverty in India declined from
29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this
bracket during this period. Government initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,
which promotes financial inclusion, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides rural employment, have played crucial roles.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

India has improved food security through schemes like the Public Distribution System (PDS) and
the National Food Security Act. However, challenges remain in combating malnutrition,
especially among children and women.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

India has made substantial progress in improving health outcomes, with reductions in maternal
and child mortality rates. The Ayushman Bharat scheme aims to provide health insurance to over
100 million poor and vulnerable families, enhancing access to healthcare.

SDG 4: Quality Education

India has achieved near-universal enrollment in primary education. Initiatives like the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme have improved access and retention. However,
quality of education and learning outcomes remain areas of concern.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

India has made advances in gender equality through policies like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
initiative, which aims to improve the welfare of girls. However, gender disparities persist in
education, employment, and political representation.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has significantly improved sanitation coverage, achieving the
goal of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in many regions. However, access to clean drinking
water remains a challenge in some areas.

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

India has made remarkable progress in expanding access to electricity, with the Saubhagya
scheme achieving near-universal electrification. The country is also advancing in renewable
energy, aiming for 500 GW of renewable energy installed capacity by 2030.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

India has experienced robust economic growth, with initiatives like Make in India and Start-up
India promoting industrialization and entrepreneurship. However, unemployment and
underemployment remain significant issues.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

India has made strides in building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation. The Smart
Cities Mission aims to develop 100 smart cities, and investments in digital infrastructure are
expanding connectivity.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequality

Despite economic growth, income inequality remains a challenge. Policies aimed at financial
inclusion, social protection, and affirmative action are crucial in addressing disparities.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Urbanization is rapidly increasing in India. The Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for
Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) focus on sustainable urban development and
improving housing, and infrastructure.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

India is promoting sustainable consumption and production through initiatives like the National
Action Plan on Climate Change and efforts to improve waste management and resource
efficiency.

SDG 13: Climate Action

India is committed to combating climate change, as reflected in its Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Efforts include expanding renewable energy
and enhancing climate resilience.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

India is working to conserve marine ecosystems through policies aimed at sustainable fishing and
reducing marine pollution. Coastal and marine biodiversity conservation programs are also being
implemented.

SDG 15: Life on Land

India's efforts to protect terrestrial ecosystems include afforestation programs, wildlife
conservation initiatives, and policies to combat desertification and land degradation.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

India is focusing on improving governance, reducing corruption, and ensuring access to justice.
The Digital India initiative aims to enhance transparency and citizen engagement through
technology.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

India actively participates in global partnerships and international cooperation to achieve the
SDGs. The country is engaged in South-South cooperation and leverages international aid and
private-sector investments for sustainable development projects.

India's progress towards the SDGs demonstrates the country's commitment to sustainable
development, although challenges remain in fully realizing these goals by 2030. Continuous
efforts and effective policy implementation are essential to sustain and accelerate progress.