Sustainable Development Report, 2022: India’s SDG preparedness ranking continues to decline: Report

What is the News?

The Sustainable Development Report, 2022 has been released.

What is the Sustainable Development Report, 2022?

Released by: Group of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

Purpose: It is a global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and the voluntary national reviews.

What are the key findings of the report related to India?

India’s Rank: India’s rank in the report has slipped for the third consecutive year. It has been ranked 121 out of the 163 countries in 2022. India ranked 117 in 2020 and 120 in 2021.  

Observations on India’s progress on SDGs: India is not placed well to achieve the SDG goals and its preparedness has worsened over the years in comparison with other countries.

The country continues to face major challenges in achieving 11 of the 17 SDGs which has pushed down its ranking.

For instance, the progress in around 10 of these goals is similar to those in 2021. These include SDG 2 on ending hunger, SDG 3 on good health and well-being and SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation. Further, ensuring decent work (SDG 8) has become even more challenging.

However, India is on track to achieving SDG 13 on climate action.

What are the other report’s observations on India’s performance on climate action?

According to the State of India’s Environment Report, India’s performance on climate action — (SDG) 13 — has slipped from 2019-2020. 

In 2020, the country’s overall national score on SDG 13 was 54 (out of 100) — a significant dip from 60 in 2019.

This decline in India’s overall performance is primarily due to eight states. These are Bihar, Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand. The scores of these states have dipped under SDG 13 in the two years.

Source: The post is based on the article “India’s SDG preparedness ranking continues to decline: Report” published in Down To Earth on 6th June 2022.