10 Years of SDGs: India’s Progress ( UPSC Prelims)

EN ह

News Context

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have reached a milestone of 10 years since their adoption in September 2015.

About Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The concept of sustainable development was initially described in the 1987 Brundtland Report by the World Commission on Environment and Development as a form of development that satisfies the current needs without hindering future generations from fulfilling their own needs. In 2015, every nation within the United Nations embraced the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. These SDGs are the successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were a collection of eight objectives established in 2000 with a completion deadline set for 2015.

Progress towards SDGs (10th edition of Sustainable Development Report (SDR), 2025)

• Global
    ● Finland holds the top position with a score of 87, followed by Sweden and Denmark.  
        ○ On average, East and South Asia have demonstrated the fastest progress on SDGs since 2015.
        ○ Merely 17% of SDG targets are on course to be accomplished by 2030.
    ● SDG 1 and SDG 10 are progressing well, while SDG 13 is declining.  
 • India
        ○ For the first time, India is ranked among the top 100 in the SDG Index, positioned at 99 in 2025 with a score of 67 out of 100.

Key Highlights of India’s Achievements

SDG-1 (No Poverty): Between 2015-2016 and 2019-2021, more than 135 million people were lifted out of multidimensional poverty. (NITI Aayog SDG India Index 2023-24)
 SDG-3 (Good Health and Well-Being): The maternal mortality ratio decreased to 80.5 per 100,000 live births in 2023, down from 130 in 2014-16. (SDR, 2025)
 SDG-4 (Quality Education): The net primary enrolment rate reached 99.9% in 2024. (SDR, 2025)
 SDG-7 (Clean Energy): By 2022, 99.2% of the population had access to electricity. (SDR, 2025)