India Voluntary National Review Report on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
As one of the countries that has volunteered to take part in the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2017, India appreciates the focus on ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’.
This report presents an overview of the Government of India’s commitment and actions towards the SDGs.
An excerpt from the report:
‘Reinforcing India’s commitment to the national development agenda and SDGs, the country’s Parliament has organized several forums to develop policy and action perspectives on elimination of poverty, promoting gender equality and addressing climate change. The NITI Aayog, with the Prime Minister as its chairperson, is to provide the overall coordination and leadership. The institution has carried out a detailed mapping of the 17 Goals and 169 targets to Nodal Central Ministries, Centrally Sponsored Schemes and major government initiatives. Most sub-national governments have carried out a similar mapping of the SDGs and targets to the departments and programmes in their respective states. The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has developed a list of draft national indicators in light of the global SDG indicators. This draft has been placed in the public domain for wider consultation.
Several of the Government’s programmes directly contribute to advancement of the SDG agenda. A noteworthy example is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which is the world’s largest financial inclusion programme. By leveraging PMJDY, Aadhaar (biometric identity system) and mobile telephony, the Government has disbursed a cumulative amount of INR 1.6 trillion (USD 25 billion) to 329 million beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfers. This has helped to significantly enhance the efficiency of Government programmes. While the central government has sponsored schemes to provide employment, connect villages to cities through roads, build houses for the poor and offer education in the states, various sub-groups of Chief Ministers have come forward to give valuable advice to the central government on such important matters as digital payments, skill development and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India Campaign).’
