Part I Can be read from here:- https://upsctree.com/must-read-sdg-index-2021-and-the-performance-of-india-states-part-i/
SDG 10 REDUCED INEQUALITIES Reduce inequality within and among countries
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The Goal calls for progressively reducing not only income inequalities but also inequalities-of-outcome by ensuring access to equal opportunities and promoting social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or any other status relevant within a society. It also aims at enhancing representation and voice for developing countries in decision making in international economic and financial institutions.
SDG 11 SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 11 promotes inclusive and sustainable urbanisation. Making cities sustainable means creating career and business opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and building resilient societies and economies. It involves investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in participatory and inclusive ways.
SDG 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
The Goal emphasises on “doing more with less” thus promoting resource efficiency, green economies and sustainable infrastructure. It also focusses on reducing degradation and pollution and minimising waste. The efficient management of our shared natural resources and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants are important targets to achieve this Goal. It calls for awareness generation and dissemination on sustainable development, lifestyles and practices.
SDG 13 CLIMATE ACTION Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The Goal is aimed at integrating climate change measures, disaster risk measures and sustainable natural resource management into national development strategies. To minimise the human impact of geophysical disasters, the Goal calls for strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity, including human and institutional capacity on mitigation, adaptation, and early warning. Efforts at the national level – for adopting green technologies, promoting the use of clean and modern source of energy, advocating for behavioural change for sustainable use of resources, have to be complemented by international cooperation on climate change since the causes and effects of climate change transcend national boundaries.
SDG 14 LIFE BELOW WATER Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life, drive global systems that make the earth habitable for humankind. Goal 14 commits countries to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources. It focuses on preventing marine pollution, ending illegal and destructive fishing practices, and sustainably managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems while increasing scientific knowledge, research, and transfer of marine technology to improve marine health.
SDG 15 LIFE ON LAND Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
The Goal is aimed at protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; sustainable management of forests; combating desertification; and halting and reversing land degradation in conjunction with integrating ecosystems and biodiversity into national and local planning. It also seeks to promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources, and prevent poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna.
SDG 16 PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Peace, stability and effective governance based on rule-of-law and upholding the principles of equality, human rights and justice are prerequisites for sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence, and work with governments and communities to end conflict and insecurity. Promoting rule-of-law and human rights are key to this process, as are reducing the flow of illicit arms and strengthening the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance. Goal 16 also focuses on ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking, corruption and bribery, and in the development of accountable and transparent institutions.
SDG 17 PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
In the last decade, India’s role in development cooperation and partnership, especially at the global level, has undergone notable transformation. India has actively contributed to crafting of policy coalitions that offer a forum and platform for countries of the Global South as well as the North for cooperation on multiple fronts, such as ISA (International Solar Alliance); CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure); BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and its New Development Bank; IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa); India-Africa Forum Summit; India-PSIDS; India-CARICOM; the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) etc. Working towards global partnership has, therefore, assumed considerable importance as a policy imperative for the country.
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Steve Ovett, the famous British middle-distance athlete, won the 800-metres gold medal at the Moscow Olympics of 1980. Just a few days later, he was about to win a 5,000-metres race at London’s Crystal Palace. Known for his burst of acceleration on the home stretch, he had supreme confidence in his ability to out-sprint rivals. With the final 100 metres remaining,
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]Ovett waved to the crowd and raised a hand in triumph. But he had celebrated a bit too early. At the finishing line, Ireland’s John Treacy edged past Ovett. For those few moments, Ovett had lost his sense of reality and ignored the possibility of a negative event.
This analogy works well for the India story and our policy failures , including during the ongoing covid pandemic. While we have never been as well prepared or had significant successes in terms of growth stability as Ovett did in his illustrious running career, we tend to celebrate too early. Indeed, we have done so many times before.
It is as if we’re convinced that India is destined for greater heights, come what may, and so we never run through the finish line. Do we and our policymakers suffer from a collective optimism bias, which, as the Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman once wrote, “may well be the most significant of the cognitive biases”? The optimism bias arises from mistaken beliefs which form expectations that are better than the reality. It makes us underestimate chances of a negative outcome and ignore warnings repeatedly.
The Indian economy had a dream run for five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08, with an average annual growth rate of around 9%. Many believed that India was on its way to clocking consistent double-digit growth and comparisons with China were rife. It was conveniently overlooked that this output expansion had come mainly came from a few sectors: automobiles, telecom and business services.
Indians were made to believe that we could sprint without high-quality education, healthcare, infrastructure or banking sectors, which form the backbone of any stable economy. The plan was to build them as we went along, but then in the euphoria of short-term success, it got lost.
India’s exports of goods grew from $20 billion in 1990-91 to over $310 billion in 2019-20. Looking at these absolute figures it would seem as if India has arrived on the world stage. However, India’s share of global trade has moved up only marginally. Even now, the country accounts for less than 2% of the world’s goods exports.
More importantly, hidden behind this performance was the role played by one sector that should have never made it to India’s list of exports—refined petroleum. The share of refined petroleum exports in India’s goods exports increased from 1.4% in 1996-97 to over 18% in 2011-12.
An import-intensive sector with low labour intensity, exports of refined petroleum zoomed because of the then policy regime of a retail price ceiling on petroleum products in the domestic market. While we have done well in the export of services, our share is still less than 4% of world exports.
India seemed to emerge from the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. But, a temporary demand push had played a role in the revival—the incomes of many households, both rural and urban, had shot up. Fiscal stimulus to the rural economy and implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission scales had led to the salaries of around 20% of organized-sector employees jumping up. We celebrated, but once again, neither did we resolve the crisis brewing elsewhere in India’s banking sector, nor did we improve our capacity for healthcare or quality education.
Employment saw little economy-wide growth in our boom years. Manufacturing jobs, if anything, shrank. But we continued to celebrate. Youth flocked to low-productivity service-sector jobs, such as those in hotels and restaurants, security and other services. The dependence on such jobs on one hand and high-skilled services on the other was bound to make Indian society more unequal.
And then, there is agriculture, an elephant in the room. If and when farm-sector reforms get implemented, celebrations would once again be premature. The vast majority of India’s farmers have small plots of land, and though these farms are at least as productive as larger ones, net absolute incomes from small plots can only be meagre.
A further rise in farm productivity and consequent increase in supply, if not matched by a demand rise, especially with access to export markets, would result in downward pressure on market prices for farm produce and a further decline in the net incomes of small farmers.
We should learn from what John Treacy did right. He didn’t give up, and pushed for the finish line like it was his only chance at winning. Treacy had years of long-distance practice. The same goes for our economy. A long grind is required to build up its base before we can win and celebrate. And Ovett did not blame anyone for his loss. We play the blame game. Everyone else, right from China and the US to ‘greedy corporates’, seems to be responsible for our failures.
We have lowered absolute poverty levels and had technology-based successes like Aadhaar and digital access to public services. But there are no short cuts to good quality and adequate healthcare and education services. We must remain optimistic but stay firmly away from the optimism bias.
In the end, it is not about how we start, but how we finish. The disastrous second wave of covid and our inability to manage it is a ghastly reminder of this fact.