India and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This Policy Brief, based on research on current international developments and consultations with policy-makers and other stakeholders, seeks to make suggestions on how India should engage with the design of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure an alignment of its own Plan goals with the SDGs wherever possible to establish a greater synergy and efficiency in the achievements of these goals. SDGs was one of the main outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), popularly known as the Rio+20, convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012. The goals are intended to advance sustainable development through greater integration of its three pillars: economic, social, and environmental. For the achievement of sustainable development in the long run, it is essential to have the right type of goals and indicators that, in addition to being global in nature, should not ignore the national context. There should be convergence of the SDGs and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) beyond 2015. The role of civil society will be very important for the success of such goals, and therefore, it is important to mainstream them into the planning process. It is also necessary to have clear means of implementation for the SDGs, which can be the building blocks including financing, governance, and availability of technology.