‘No One Left Behind’: Progress of Sustainable Development in South Asia

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations Sustainable development Summit in 2015, country wise appraisals of how they are being implemented are just beginning to emerge. The United Nations resolution “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development” with 17 distinct goals, and 169 targets for these goals, was endorsed by all member countries on September 25, 2015. To achieve economic, environmental and social goals in an integrated manner, reflected him the credo of “ people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership”. There were no less than 17 very significant and substantive goals, each containing multiple targets and each target relying often on more than one indicator. And these goals and targets are not simply extrapolations of past trends. South Asia and particularly India was something of a laggard in meeting the MDGs- other than those relating to Income poverty- and if current trends are considered, the problems are even greater with respect to the sustainable development goals. The SAARC leaders have also identified poverty alleviation, jobs for youth, agriculture and food security, health and education, women and children and social protection, energy, environment and blue economy as the key development challenges for South Asia. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, an ancient Indian phrase meaning the sustainable development goals are, thus, part and parcel of country’s long-standing tradition and heritage. The NITI Aayog, has recently released a draft three-Year Agenda covering years 2017-18 to 2019-20. Several of the government’s programme like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana which is the world’s largest financial inclusion programme would directly contribute to advancement of the SDGs agenda.