By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Against the boasting of the ruling establishment of India led by PM Narendra Modi about its world ranking in wealth and equality fourth in each, the SDG Index 2025 of the United Nations ranks this country as 99th in the World, and is out of track in 15 out of 17 SDG goals to be achieved by 2025. Boasting is obviously ridiculous, since it was made in a bid to conceal the ground realities. Ten years have already passed of the adoption of SDG goals in 2025 and we have only 5 years to go to achieve the target by 2030.
India’s overall performance score in SDG is only 67 percent, below than the regional average of 69.5 per cent in South Asia, ranked 99th in 2025 out of 167 countries assessed, with missing data 1 percent. Moreover, many of the data are many years old. Country’s support to UN-Based Multilateralism (UN-Mi) rank is 113, that is in SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals, scoring only 63.8 per cent. Statistical performance index is available for 2023, in which India scored only 73.6 per cent. Had India performed better in data performance, India’s rank would have been worse in SDG index.
While going through the UN Sustainable Development Report 2025one needs to constantly keep in mind that the data included by the report is actually the data given by the government. The only two goals in which India is marked on track was SDG 1 – No Poverty and SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, though the probing fingers have been raised against the data quality on account of manipulation of the data to show a rosy picture. Nevertheless, the report says that “challenges remain” in achieving no poverty, and “significant challenges remain in achieving equality by 2030.
It is also worth noting that the poverty and inequality data of India are not based on the basis of income, but on the basis of consumptions which includes the free food grains and other social assistance like healthcare, education, old age pensions, and so on. No doubt, social assistance makes the poverty little more tolerable, and GINI score artificially improved while poverty and inequality continue or worsen on the ground.
To show better picture on poverty and inequality government’s social expenditure is added to the people’s consumption. For assessment of poverty and inequality India does not take into account the income of the people, and does not compare it with Gross National Income (GNI) or incomes of various fractiles. It makes India’s data deceptive, since it does not provide complete picture of poverty and inequality.
Though India provides poverty headcount data which is up to date for 2025, it is strange that for SDG 2 -Zero Hunger, the data are years old. In SDG 1 – No Poverty, it says that only 1.1 per cent of people in India were below poverty line at $2.15/day, and 5.5 per cent at $3.65 per day.
The poverty data, however, does not support the data on hunger. Prevalence of stunting in children under 5 years of Age was 35.5 per cent, wasting 18.7 per cent, and minimum dietary diversity among children aged 6-23 months 23.6 per cent in 2020. Sustainable Nitrogen Management index (best 0 –1.41 worst) available for 2018 was 0.8. All these show that major challenges remain. India is sharply going down in Human Trophic level (best 2 – 3 worst) which was 2.3 in 2022. The report shows that with respect to hunger major challenges exist while situation is stagnating. Why it is so, when India’s GDP is growing fast making it fourth largest economy of the world? The answer lies in widening inequality, however, the SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities score, India is shown to be on track. What is this? Why this discrepancy? Because, inequality is estimated not on income of individual but on consumption, and the value of the consumption is calculated by combining individual’s expenditure and government’s expenditure on social welfare and security schemes.
Major challenges remain in SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, though the situation is moderately improving. Similar is the situation in SDG 5 – Gender Equality, and SDG 14 – Life Below Water.
However, off the track with major challenges and stagnating SDGs apart from SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, are SDG 11 –Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 15 – Life and Land, and SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Three of the four trackers show that our cities and communities are facing major challenges. As of 2022, proportion of urban population living in slums are 41.4 per cent, and access to improved water source, piped was available to only 65.6 per cent. As far as pollution is concerned, annual mean concentration of PM2.5 (μg/m3)was 47.3. The only one tracker that is on population with convenient access to public transport in city was little better, but it was also very low availability for 69.8 per cent of the people.
As for Life and Land is concerned, three of the five trackers are showing major challenges with stagnation in development. These are the mean areas that is protected in terrestrial sites import to biodiversity was 6.3 per cent, mean area that is protected in freshwater sites important to biodiversity was 8.3 per cent, and red list index of species survival (worst 0 – 1 best) was 0.67 and was deteriorating in 2023. Though considered on track, the permanent deforestation faces significant challenges.
Scores for Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) also showing major challenges. Out of 11 trackers available, we don’t have score for children involved in child labour in this index, though we known India has highest number of child labour in the world. India’s export of major conventional weapons score in 2024 was zero, and hence this is the only tracker in SDG 16 which is on track.
Situation is deteriorating in three trackers – unsentenced detainees which was 75.8 per cent of the prison population in 2022, Press Freedom Index (worst 0 – 100 best) score 33 in 2025, and expropriation are lawful and adequately compensated (worst 0 – 1 best) score 0.63 in 2023.
Major challenges remain and situation has almost stagnated in Corruption Perception Index (worst 0 – 100 best) with a score of 38 in 2024, access to affordability of justice (worst 0 – 1 best) with a score of 0.43 in 2023, and timeliness of administrative proceedings (worst 0 – 1 best) with a score of 0.39 in 2023.
The tracker for homicide shows significant challenges though situation is showing gradual improvement. In 2022, homicides per 1 lakh population in India was 2.8. Challenges also remain with respect to crime control, though the tracker shows it improving.
Overall, in Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, India’s position has worsened over the times, and facing major challenges.
Trackers on SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 12– Responsible Consumption and Production, shows significant challenges, with situation stagnating. Expenditure on research and development as percentage of GDP is declining with major challenges, and was 0.6 per cent in 2020. Production-based air pollution (DALYs per 1000 population) is deteriorating and was 20.3 in 2024.
Other SDGs with significant challenges but situation moderately improving and still out of track are SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean energy, and SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Tracker shows that challenges remain in SDG 4 – Quality Education which is moderately improving, and SDG 13 –Climate Action which is decreasing. CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production tCO₂ per capita was 2.2 in 2023. (IPA Service)
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