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When it comes to Sustainable Development Goals, India ranks quite low in the index. Out of 149 countries, India ranked at 110th spot as per a new index. 
 
Sweden topped the Sustainable Development Goals. 
 
The index was launched by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung. 
 
The index collected available data for 149 countries to assess where each country stands in 2016 with regard to achieving the SDGs. 
 
It ranks countries based on their performance across the 17 global goals, a set of ambitious objectives across the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance. 
 
The index helps countries identify priorities for early actions and shows that every country faces major challenges in achieving the SDGs. 
 
"The Sustainable Development Goals are stretch goals, but they are within reach if countries work towards them with clarity and determination. The SDG Index and Dashboard can help each country to chart out a practical path for achieving the Goals," said SDSN Director Jeffrey Sachs. 
 
The countries which are closest to fulfilling the goals are not the biggest economies but comparably small, developed countries. 
Sweden tops the chart and is followed by Denmark and Norway on the top three performing countries. 
 
Germany (6) and the UK(10) are the only G7 countries to be found among the top ten performers. The US ranks 25th on the index, while Russia and China rank 47th and 76th respectively. 
 
India ranks 110th on the list followed by Lesotho on 113th position, Pakistan (115), Myanmar (117), Bangladesh (118) and Afghanistan (139). Poor and <keyword id="54124" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="developing-countries">developing countries</keyword> understandably score lowest on the SDG Index as they often have comparably little resources at their disposal. 
The Central African Republic and Liberia are at the bottom of the Index and still have the longest way to go in achieving the SDGs. 
 
A year after world leaders adopted the SDGs, the new index shows that all countries face major challenges in achieving these ambitious goals by 2030. 
 
No country has achieved the SDGs and even top Sweden scores "red" on several goals. 
 
The report shows how leaders can deliver on their promise and urges countries not to lose the momentum for important reforms. 
In order to achieve the ambitious goals, immediate and comprehensive action is needed in the crucial first years of implementation of the new global agenda, it noted. 
 
The report highlights major challenges per region: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries struggle to meet the goals on inequality, sustainable consumption, climate change and ecosystems, while many developing countries face major difficulties in providing basic social services and infrastructure access to their populations. 
 
East and South Asia outperform many other developing regions but unmet challenges persist in health and education. 
 
For Latin America and the Caribbean, high levels of inequality are among the most pressing issues. 
 
In spite of significant progress in recent years in Sub-Saharan Africa, the world's poorest region faces major challenges across almost all SDGs, with extreme poverty, hunger and health as major areas where substantial improvement is needed.

Out of 149 nations, India is at 110th spot on Sustainable Development Goals index

The <keyword id="166486" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Millennium-Development-Goals">Millennium Development Goals</keyword> (MDGs), which draw near to completion in 2015, have given way to the new <keyword id="55804" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</keyword> Goals (SDGs) la<keyword id="6355835" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="UN">un</keyword>ched at the UN General Assembly. The event and an array of other events including the SDG Business Forum, the Social Good Summit and the Clinton Global Initiative saw large participation from various stakeholders. 
	
		In understanding and evaluating the presentations at these events, some of the pertinent points that look seemingly obvious are: First, few presentations gave any indication of serious learning from the wins-- and losses--during 20 years of MDG work. A delineation of the models that work (i.e., more sustainable and scalable) is seen as clearly missing. Second, in the absence of learning frameworks, presenters reiterate the same problems, now expanded to 17 goals and 169 targets. The result is a plea for more resources to support the new SDGs without any evidence that those resources will be employed more effectively. Third, the core request at these events was for more than four trillion dollars per year to implement the SDGs over 15 years. 
	 
	
		This logically leads to two important questions i.e., how can you call the goals replacing the MDGs sustainable if they lead with requests for resources that are not? At the beginning of the SDG process, what should the worlds’ governments, corporates and NGO leaders focus on now to make the new global goals actually sustainable?
	 
	
		Answering these questions is at the heart of societal businesses value creation that seeks to find the most innovative and sustainable models for solving intractable challenges. Societal business search firms have advocated tirelessly the need to identify models that 1) can be scaled and 2) are not reliant on non-profit funding (which is donation-dependent and driven by the dictates of donors.) 
	 
	
		The best models that have found have had social entrepreneurs at the helm who see the world differently. They frequently take the “against” position (<a href="http://goo.gl/XHWj6x">http://goo.gl/XHWj6x</a>). For instance, in branding, claiming the against position means using a competitor’s dominant spend and mindshare to carve out an anti-space—the Un-cola for example. Social entrepreneurs are quintessential against positioners. [Microfinance inventor] Mohammed Yunus stated it clearly: “I looked at how traditional banks do business and we did the opposite.” In very practical terms, these stubborn, opinionated entrepreneurs frequently show up after the aid and development models have failed or at least failed to become sustainable. Their arrival on the scene is less a ‘Kumbaya’ moment and more a “disruptive innovation” one.
	 
	
		Social entrepreneurs are relentlessly focused on what they have learned. Their conversations highlight the innovations that are rolled into ingenious, often cross-sector models and as the people who use these models to solve their own and others problems. Their resource requests are framed by why their model should be scaled and how it can replace less effective approaches. The primary goal for these innovative social entrepreneurs is to demonstrate that appropriate capacity building and scale enables their hybrid or for-profit innovation models to solve problems sustainably, thus reducing dependence on fundraising. 
	 
	
		To deliberate on these emerging business models The Shared Value Summit 2015, is being organized by Shared Value India on November 20th, 2015 (<a href="http://sharedvalue.in/svs2015/">http://sharedvalue.in/svs2015/</a>). The summit will see participation from various stakeholders who will deliberate and discuss key opportunities that businesses can and are leveraging to create societal value. 
	 
	
		Already, social entrepreneurs have offered five critical solutions to the problem of making the Sustainable Development Goals truly sustainable: First, recognizing that any commitment to achieving the SDGs must avoid Einstein’s famous definition of insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting different results. Second, authentic commitment to the SDGs requires leaders to recognize one simple reality: It is not possible to have sustainable development goals without sustainable models that leverage under-utilized resources. Third, serious SDG innovators recognize that the current donor, foreign aid and resource investment processes are not sustainable. They call attention to inadequacies and offer new models and leadership to move significant resources from unsustainable models to sustainable models. Fourth, any leader pleading for more funding should be able to explain how his/her organization will deploy that funding to scale solutions that are more sustainable than those that failed to achieve most of the MDGs. Finally, significantly improved sustainability requires the ongoing evaluation of all investments, models and approaches employed. The most sustainable solutions should then be aggressively adopted across sector and country boundaries, no matter their origin or disruption.
	 
	
		Increasingly, leaders are being asked to challenge the status quo. These leaders—often disruptors—no longer target seed stage or individual impact investments. The most impactful leaders know that pilots do not lead to scaling or to sustainability. 
	 
	
		Social entrepreneurs thrive at risk taking and from learning rapidly about what doesn’t work. These are the sustainable, scale-oriented models and management teams that are best equipped to handle significant capital and to shift how these goals are achieved to sustainable development goals.
	 (The article is co-authored with David Wilcox, the founder of ReachScale, an organization that aligns the <keyword id="76104" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-responsibility">social responsibility</keyword> goals of corporations with high potential social entrepreneurs working in areas of common interest.) 
image credits: 7continents5oceans

What should the world do to make sustainable development goals truly 'sustainable'?

There exists a considerable overlap between the recently adopted United Nation’s (UN) <keyword id="55804" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</keyword> Goals (SDGs) targeted to be achieved by 2030 and the social dimensions incorporated in the <keyword id="2181132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Social-Progress-Index">Social Progress Index</keyword> (SPI) developed by the Social Progress Imperative, a nonprofit organization based in Washington. The UN’s sustainable development agenda comprises of 17 goals pertaining to poverty eradication, lessening inequality and injustice and environmental challenges, particularly climatic changes and hold a global applicability, irrespective of the level of development of a nation. Likewise, the SPI captures comprehensively social progress of a country by incorporating various social and environmental indicators which have been distinctly grouped into three dimensions- Basic Human Needs such as food, water, sanitation, shelter, and personal safety; Foundations of Wellbeing for a better life such as basic education, information and communication, health , and environmental sustainability and thirdly, the Opportunity to improve one’s life through provision of rights, freedom , equality and access to advanced education. Figure1.1 highlights the overlap between the UN’s SDGs and the three dimensions of the SPI. 
 
Figure 1.1: Overlap between the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the SPI 
 
 
 
Source: <a href="http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/">http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/</a> 
 
 
The SPI by aggregating indicators across all the dimensions provides a holistic measure to benchmark the progress reached on the sustainable development agenda of the UN. While, the world scores 61 on a scale of 100 on social progress, there exists a wide diversity in the social progress levels reached across the world, with countries falling under the category of “Low Social Progress” and “Very Low Social Progress” being the countries of concern for achieving the new SDGs for 2030. 
 
Looking at the SPI performance for India, which has been classified as one of the low social progress countries, it has been observed that while India performs well in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care and Access to Basic Knowledge, it lags behind in many other critical aspects of development. For instance, in 2015, only 36 per cent of the population had access to improved sanitation facilities and about 26 per cent had access to piped water. Moreover, due to excessive freshwater withdrawals India is currently facing high water stress levels. In addition to this, about 25 per cent of the population does not have access to electricity, along with a poor quality of electricity supply to the rest of the masses. Further, India has low tolerance for all the members of its population, making it socially less progressive compared to the other countries. For instance, India has been ranked 128th in 133 countries on tolerance for immigrants from other countries. (<a href="http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/">http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/</a>) 
 
Understanding the pressing need of fostering social progress for India, the current Narendra Modi government has implemented a development strategy that is closely aligned with the recent UN’s sustainable development agenda. One of the most striking initiatives undertaken so far have been “Make in India” drive having intent of propelling domestic manufacturing growth along with spurring foreign direct investment, job creation and innovation in sectors such as automotive, defense manufacturing, electronics, mining, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy. In addition to this, initiatives such as “Digital India” and “Smart Cities” have committed to providing best in class infrastructure and smart solutions to its people such as smart energy systems, green transportation and smart buildings intended to save energy usage. 
 
Further, as India accounts for about 50 per cent of the world’s open defecation, Government of India and the World Bank have also signed a US$500 million credit for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) project in the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. This complements the popular “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, national campaign by the Government of India to clean the roads of the country. Several other programmes that would enable India to achieve higher social progress include “Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation” which proposes housing for all by 2022, and “Skill India” initiative which proposes to empower about 40 crore individuals with skills by 2022. Moreover, to drive innovation and the related growth, which is essential for sustainable development, Modi government has also taken steps to promote intellectual property rights within the country. A national Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy has been formulated which suggests providing tax benefits to the IPR creation. 
 
On the front of environmental sustainability, which has been another area of concern for sustainable development of a country, in the World Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris in 2015, India has shown its support along with 176 other countries so far by signing the climatic change agreement which proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius. 
Thus, while several efforts have been taken up by the Indian government towards a more sustainable development growth path, it must be realized that to achieve the global goals, the world’s social progress score would have to reach atleast 75 out of 100(Report by Deloitte UK and Social Progress Imperative), which is possible only if all the countries, irrespective of their current level of economic growth overperform on social progress. One of the countries worth highlighting here is Costa Rica, which has achieved a SPI score of 77.88 with a GDP per capita of only $13, 431 per annum. While, several social indicators are positively impacted by economic prosperity, indicators on the front of health and wellness, rights and freedom, tolerance and inclusion and environment have a weak correlation with GDP, thus highlighting the necessity of prioritizing such dimensions directly so as to achieve the desired social progress score for the UN’s SDGs for 2030. 
 
About the authors: Dr Amit Kapoor is Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitivenes.in">amit.kapoor@competitivenes.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya. Deepti Mathur is part of the Social Progress Index team at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. 
 
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5G0ndS3uRdo/maxresdefault.jpg">Image source</a>

India’s Development Strategy towards Social Progress and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

During the <keyword id="3080788" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Nation-Sustainable-Development-Summit">United Nation Sustainable Development Summit</keyword>, a high-level plenary meeting of the <keyword id="107186" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="General-Assembly">General Assembly</keyword> highlighted 17 ambitious <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=SDGs">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (<keyword id="450172" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sdgs">SDGs</keyword>) that aim to remove poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change in the next 15 years. 
 
In an exclusive e-mail interview of <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/world-wont-achieve-its-development-goals-without-india-coming-through-bill-gates/articleshow/49160201.cms">The Economic Times</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=bill+gates">Bill Gates</a>, American business magnate and philanthropist, talked about what role India needs to play to achieve these 17 goals and why these are important. 
 <keyword id="45830" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bill-Gates">Bill Gates</keyword> told the business daily that “All eyes are on India.”The world would have not achieved its poverty reduction targets without China coming through; in the similar way, it will not achieve many of its SDGs targets without India coming through, he added. 
 While India has significantly achieved some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) goal in the education and health sector, SDGs currently gives the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> in opportunity to provide better primary healthcare to all, said Gates. 
 
On being asked about what role Indian businesses will play in achieving these goals? Bill Gates told ET that the country has a deep-rooted and growing tradition of philanthropy. This sector has significant expertise that can be applied to addressing India's most challenging health and development challenges, he added. 
 
Asserting that it's clear that the MDGs have been instrumental in fostering global collaboration and accountability among wealthy and developing countries, Gates said that the private sector and NGOs aim to bring down extreme poverty, improve maternal health and reduce child mortality rate. These factors could catalyze global action on the issues that affect the most vulnerable communities, he asserted. 
 
Gates further added that the SDGs put forward a shared vision of a world to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, foster inclusive economic growth and combat climate change by 2030. 
 
Speaking about the funding part to achieve these 17 goals, the 59-year-old tech czar told the business daily that the SDGs are not a largely aid-driven agenda unlike MDGs. He further added that following are the three sources of finance for the SDGs: 
· Domestic in-country resources 
· Traditional aid 
· Private <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=finance">finance</a> 
 
According to Gates, “The main source of financing for the SDGs will be resources from developing countries themselves, through domestic revenues like taxes which should be applied towards development outcomes.” 
(Image: UN.org)

All eyes are on India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, says Bill Gates

<ul><li>Speaking at a FICCI event, <keyword id="2665691" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">Niti Aayog</keyword> CEO <keyword id="6358887" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amitabh-kant">Amitabh Kant</keyword> said India’s <keyword id="2966117" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="circular-economy">circular economy</keyword> will create 14 million jobs in the next 5-7 years. </li><li>India is already a leader in circular economy investments. </li><li>Sustainable development and resource circularity is an inescapable necessity today.</li></ul>Amidst India’s looming job crisis, the country’s circular economy will create 14 millions in the next 5-7 years, said Amitabh Kant, CEO of think tank NITI Aayog. Circular economy refers to an economic system which prioritizes waste management and maximum utilization of resources. “By 2050, world population would reach 9.7 billion of which 3 billion people would prosper to middle class consumption level. This would require 71% more resources per capita, thereby raising total mineral and material demand from 50 billion tonnes in 2014 to 130 billion tonnes in 2050,” said Kant, speaking at an event by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Between economy and ecology Kant also pointed out that India is the fourth largest producer of e-waste in the world. He also suggested that India needs a reconciliation between economy and ecology. Sustainable development and resource circularity is an inescapable necessity today said the NITI Aayog CEO. The effects of avoiding optimum utilization of resources will be high as well. “The corresponding economic impact of these current trends could induce price volatility and supply chain interruptions in critical and strategic materials, leaving a $4.5 trillion loss in global economic growth which could rise to $25 trillion by 2050,” he added. According to a <a href="https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india-leading-among-developing-nations-in-circular-economy-investments-chatham-house/69447351">report</a> released by London’s Chatham House, India is leading in circular economy investments made by developing nations. The report says that India can save $218 billion of its GDP by promoting circular economy. India’s urban population of over 377 million generate 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste every year, according to a report by <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/waste/india-s-challenges-in-waste-management-56753">Down to Earth</a>, Meanwhile, India’s waste management industry is <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/04/17/1805220/0/en/India-14-Bn-Waste-to-Energy-and-Waste-Management-Market-to-2025.html">reported </a>to have reached $14 billion by 2025. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-how-much-an-IT-employee-makes-in-different-countries/articleshow/69739244.cms">Here’s how much an IT employee makes in different countries</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-draft-national-education-policy-one-common-admission-entrance-test/articleshow/69825504.cms">India may have one common exam for all college admissions – if the draft National Education Policy is passed</a>

India can create 14 million jobs by investing in sustainable development

United Nations, On <keyword id="34644" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-AIDS-Day">World AIDS Day</keyword> on Tuesday, a latest report from <keyword id="10359536" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-joint-un-program">the Joint UN Program</keyword> on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned that the <keyword id="9345522" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ongoing-covid-19-pandemic">ongoing Covid-19 pandemic</keyword> could result in 123,000 to 293,000 new HIV cases and 69,000 to 148,000 additional AIDS-related deaths in the next two years. In the report titled "Prevailing against pandemics by putting people at the center", UNAIDS has warned that the global AIDS response was off track even before the pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported. It used to set the triple 90s targets years ago, including that by 2020, 90 per cent of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90 per cent who know their status are receiving treatment, and 90 per cent on HIV treatment have a suppressed viral load. However, the rapid spread of the coronavirus has created additional setbacks. For the world to be back on track to ending AIDS by 2030, as part of <keyword id="10053862" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-un-sustainable-development-goals">the UN Sustainable Development Goals</keyword> (UNSDGs), UNAIDS called on countries to make far greater investments in global pandemic responses and adopt a new set of bold, ambitious but achievable HIV targets. "The collective failure to invest sufficiently in comprehensive, rights-based, people-centered HIV responses has come at a terrible price," UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said. "Implementing just the most politically palatable programs will not turn the tide against Covid-19 or end AIDS. To get the global response back on track will require putting people first and tackling the inequalities on which epidemics thrive." UNAIDS has since proposed a new set of targets for 2025 that, if achieved, will make the UNSDGs of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 possible. Those include achieving a number of 95 per cent by 2025, such as 95 per cent of women of reproductive age have HIV, sexual and reproductive health service needs met; 95 per cent of pregnant and breast-feeding women living with HIV have suppressed viral loads; 95 per cent of HIV-exposed children are tested; and 95 per cent of people at risk of HIV infection use appropriate, prioritized, person-centered and effective combination prevention options. The 2025 targets also include ambitious anti-discrimination goals, such as that less than 10 per cent of countries have punitive laws and policies, that less than ten percent of people living with and affected by HIV experience stigma and discrimination, and that less than ten percent experience gender inequality and violence. Faced with the unabated Covid-19 pandemic, the UNAIDS chief has reiterated her call for global solidarity and for the world to learn from mistakes of the HIV response. "No country can defeat these pandemics on its own. A challenge of this magnitude can only be defeated by forging global solidarity, accepting a shared responsibility and mobilizing a response that leaves no one behind. We can do this by sharing the load and working together." According to UNAIDS, there were 1.7 million new HIV infections and 690,000 deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in 2019. Globally, 38 million people are living with HIV, with more than 12 million people waiting for life-saving HIV treatment. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/kunal-shah-cred-raises-80-million-valuation-doubles-to-800-million-for-the-just-two-year-old-startup/articleshow/79502864.cms">Kunal Shah’s CRED raises $80 million – valuation doubles to $800 million for the just two-year old startup</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-stocks-to-watch-dr-reddys-indiabulls-housing-mm-tata-motors-bajaj-auto-maruti-hero-moto-pnb-and-others/articleshow/79502563.cms">Top stocks to watch — Dr Reddy’s, Indiabulls Housing, M&amp;M, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, Hero Moto, PNB, and others</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/checkout-which-states-have-reimposed-curfews-and-restrictions-again-as-second-covid-19-wave-hits-india/articleshow/79366320.cms?upcache=2">Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand issue fresh COVID-19 guidelines,TN extends lockdown — these are the states reimposing curfews and restrictions</a> <h1 style="margin-top: 6px; margin-bottom: 30px; color: rgb(44, 44, 45); font-family: futura_ltbold; font-size: 40px; background-color: rgba(234, 234, 234, 0.69);"></h1>

World AIDS Day: UN report warns that COVID-19 could result in more HIV cases, AIDS-related deaths

The Budget 2016-17 will be a "historical one" with focus on job creation and sustainable development, Union Environment Minister <keyword id="119642" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prakash-Javadekar">Prakash Javadekar</keyword> said today. 
 "The Budget will be essentially a historical one. It will ensure path of job creation and ensure sustainable development. That is the thrust of the <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> government," Javadekar said while interacting with captains of the industry and farmer representatives here. 
Stating that the focus of the government is on "Jawan, Noujavan, Kisan and Karmachari" (Soldier, Youth, Farmer and Labourer), Javadekar said that different ministries were talking to representatives of various sectors separately to meet their expectations. 
 
For the welfare of labourers, the government increased minimum wages, enhanced the ceiling of bonus and fixed wages for the contract workers, a step which was never taken before, he said. 
 
"We represent the aspirations of poor class," he said adding, in one year, a record 17-crore poor people have opened bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana and 12 crore insured for accident by paying Rs 12. 
 
Responding to various issues raised by various industries such as textile, engineering, manufacturing, processing, pump and motors, Javadekar said that Zero Liquid Discharge was not the policy, but not polluting rivers as the policy, and referred the issue of Ganga, where nearly 550 polluting industries were made to use monitoring device and over 200 units made to close operations. 
 The Minister said that the Centre's main focus is on reforms and through its "<keyword id="2967568" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="GiveItUp">GiveItUp</keyword>" LPG subsidy scheme, the government has been able to persuade around 10 lakh people to give up the benefit, benefiting the poor living without a gas connection. 
 
There are 40 per cent households who do not have LPG connection and use firewood, he said, adding the Centre is planning to provide connection to all in next 10 years. 
 
Similarly, the government has brought stability in the sugar industry, which was facing frequent cane pricing issue, and started ethanol blending in petrol, which was blocked by import lobby earlier, Javadekar said. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Budget 2016: Government to focus on sustainable development, jobs, says Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi, Dec 15 () The Coal Ministry on Sunday said it will establish 'Sustainable Development Cell' (SDC) for promoting sustainable coal mining in the country and address environmental concerns at closure of mines.
 The SDC envisages to address environment mitigation measures in a systemic manner and provide a better environment to people working and residing in the vicinity of mines, the ministry said in a statement. 
 "The Ministry of Coal has decided to establish a 'Sustainable Development Cell' in order to promote environmentally sustainable coal mining in the country and address environmental concerns during the decommissioning or closure of mines," it said.
 The SDC will advise, mentor, plan and monitor mitigation measures taken by coal companies for maximising utilisation of available resources in a sustainable way, minimising adverse impact of mining and mitigating it for further ecosystem services, and will act as nodal point at Ministry of Coal level in this matter.
 The cell will also formulate the future policy framework for environmental mitigation measures, including the Mine closure Fund.
 The SDC will adopt a systemic approach, starting from collection of data, analysis of data, presentation of information, planning based on information by domain experts, adoption of best practices, consultations, innovative thinking, site-specific approaches, knowledge sharing and dissemination with an aim to ease the lives of people and communities in general, the statement said.
 The cell will also do land amelioration and afforestation. 
 In India approximately 2,550 sq km area is under different coal mines and there are plans to bring more areas under it. These land masses require both extensive and intensive amelioration measures.
 The cell will collect all the baseline data/maps related to different coal mines like total mines/block areas, OB dumps areas, water filled voids, reclaimed areas, unutilized areas, plantations from various coal companies, it said.
 All the data/maps will be collated and analysed on a GIS based platform and different thematic information and maps will be prepared.
 These will be updated at regular intervals. All GIS based activities will be carried out with active participation of Central Mine Planning &amp; Design Institute Ltd.
 The cell will also help coal companies identify areas where plantation projects could be taken up immediately, along with identification of various species of plants, suitable for specific regions to create large carbon sinks for climate change management, it said.
 It will also identify the activities to be taken up for creation of additional land suitable for plantation, stabilization of slope, soil treatment, creation of levelled land, dewatering as per timeline under Mine Closure Plan.
 It will check the possibility and plan for productive reuse of these land for rehabilitation, integrated modern township, agriculture, horticulture, FCA compensatory land, renewable energy farms etc.
 About the air quality, emission and noise management, the cell will advice coal companies for effective implementation of environmental mitigation measures (water sprinkling, dust suppression methods, noise barriers etc.) related to air and noise pollution generated due mine activities, heavy earth moving machines, transport of coal.
 It will analyse environment management plans (EMP) of different companies and advise coal companies to making it more effective.
 On mine water management, the cell will collect data regarding present quantity, quality, surface runoff, drainage of mine water, future availability of water collected in UG (under ground) or OC (open cast) coal mines etc., and analyse it on a GIS based platform to prepare model Coal Mine Water Management Plans.
 The plan will suggest ways and also have innovative planning for storage, treatment and re-use of such water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries, tourism, industrial or any other sustainable purpose.
 For sustainable overburden management, the cell will also check feasibility and suggest measures to reuse, recycle and rehabilitation of over burdened dumps in a sustainable manner.
 It will examine and plan out use of overburdened material for use in different infrastructure projects, earthen bunds, among others.
 For sustainable mine tourism, it will explore and conceptualise a plan for beautification and creation of eco-parks in reclaimed areas, which will also include water bodies, for recreation activities and tourism purpose. 
 It will also explore tourism potential and plan it out in few underground mines.
 For planning and monitoring, it will analyse Mine Closure Plans of different companies and advise to make it more effective.
 The cell will help coal companies finalise timeline for execution of different mitigation activities/projects in all mines in phased manner, the statement added.
 It will also monitor effective utilization of Mine Closure Fund and Environment Budgets of Different Coal Companies.
 The cell will will hire experts/institutions/organisations to conduct specific studies for establishing a robust knowledge base.
 It will organise consultative meetings, workshops, field visits, exposure study tours to enrich the knowledge base, known best global and ideas for environmental mitigation planning and monitoring.
 The cell will conduct regular workshop and seminar for company level officials to educate them in new methods, technologies, approaches and also global practices, the statement said. KKS RVK

You Searched For "sustainable development" and got 8 results

Out of 149 nations, India is at 110th spot on Sustainable Development Goals index

BI India Bureau

What should the world do to make sustainable development goals truly 'sustainable'?

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India’s Development Strategy towards Social Progress and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

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