Governance
India's Second Voluntary Review of SDGs
- 14 Jul 2020
- 4 min read
Why in News
Recently, India has represented the second voluntary national review of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report titled as ‘Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local’ to the United Nations High-level Political Forum.
- The report, presented by NITI Aayog, discusses SDGs related policy, means of implementation and situation of Covid-19 in India.
- It presented the first voluntary national review of SDGs in 2017.
Key Points
- Localising SDGs: The goal wise account of the progress on SDGs has been represented with examples of a range of diverse practices and success stories of interventions from the States, specifically Aspirational Districts.
- Financial Assistance: Highlighted the challenges thrown up by the Covid-19 outbreak, India has called on developed countries to provide financial assistance to the developing countries, especially for global public good such as climate change mitigation and control of pandemics.
- According to a study conducted by the government in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — education, health, electricity, roads and water and sanitation — will require additional funding for “significant” progress.
- Curbing Illicit Financial Flows: Deliberating on the “SDG-17” that is about “partnerships for the goals”, the report highlighted the need for international cooperation for curbing illicit financial flows.
- Efforts to curb the Covid-19: It mentioned the vulnerabilities faced by the migrants and the urban poor in the wake of the pandemic.
- India is leading a multi-faceted effort to revamp the public health infrastructure, protect jobs and livelihoods to reduce the impact of the Covid-19.
- Government has announced economic relief packages for them.
United Nations High-Level Political Forum
- Formed in 2013, it is a subsidiary body of both the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Economic and Social Council responsible for the entire organization's policy on sustainable development.
- Headquarter: New York, USA
- It adopts negotiated declarations, reviews commitment and the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Member countries are required to apprise about the progress in the form of Voluntary National Review reports (VNRs).
- The VNRs that are presented by the member states are a critical component of the review of the implementation and progress of 2030 Agenda and SDGs.
- The process of the preparation of a country’s VNR provides a platform for the partnerships, which includes the participation of various stakeholders.
- India’s VNR in 2020 undertook a paradigm shift in terms of embodying a ‘whole of society’ approach in letter and spirit.
- It has been prepared with the help of sub-national and local governments, civil society organizations, local communities, people in vulnerable situations and the private sector.
- NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national level.
