India is to SDG as China was to MDG

As per UNDP, China’s phenomenal success in achieving ‘Millennium Developmental Goals’ and ameliorating the poverty levels can be attributed to the successful implementation of socio-economic reforms such as taxation reforms, reforms in the agricultural sector that enabled farmers to adopt mechanized farming practices and thus boost yields, development of infrastructure that enabled economic agents to move their goods with ease to far flung markets, reforms on the social front that provided social security to weaker sections of society thereby enabling them to tap employment opportunities and earn a decent living, timely decisions on the macroeconomic front that kept inflation and exchange rate in check along with a host of other measures that raised millions out of poverty.

This helped not only China which is home to one fifth of global population but also the world to achieve MDG targets by year 2015.

It is in this regard that India which is second most populous country seems to be well positioned to replicate China’s success as India too has taken proactive measures to further liberalise her economy and undertaken steps to ameliorate socio-economic poverty. If India can replicate China’s success in attaining Sustainable Developmental Goals by year 2030, World as a whole would achieve its targets as one-fifth of World’s population resides in India.
 

Challenges:
 

If India is to achieve 100% literacy rate from the present 74% and the SDG of Zero poverty, then she will have to raise her spending on education to atleast 6% of GDP. Currently the expenditure on education sector is a meagre 3% while the state of affairs at government run educational institutions is deplorable on account of inadequate pupil -teacher ratio, lack of pedagogy, absence of basic amenities such as toilets and clear drinking water. This dissuades the children from attending school while the dropout rate rises as time progresses. 
 

If India is to achieve the targets of zero hunger then she will have to invest tremendous capital in agricultural sector so as to raise yields, prevent post-harvest losses and most importantly develop a robust beneficiary friendly PDS that proves wrong the notion of hunger amidst plenty.
 

If India is to safeguard its water resources like ponds, lakes and rivers and reduce biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels, then it will have to bring about attitudinal and behavioural changes in the way society exploits the water resources. Initiatives like ‘Namami Gange’ will have to replicated for other rivers of India, immersion of religious idols in rivers and lakes will have to be stopped, sewage treatment plants will have to be established at all industrial locations and rivers would have to be developed as affordable and green means of logistics.
 

Thus, challenges are tremendous in terms of funds and experienced functionaries but despite these limitations, India can attain SDG by 2030.

By: Abhinav