SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Context: On the occasion of the 20th Statistics Day, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released four publications to assess India's progress towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the National Indicator Framework (NIF).

About the Reports

• Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework (NIF) Progress Report, 2026: Flagship report presenting the latest time-series data on India's progress across all 17 SDGs using national indicators.

• Provides an evidence base for policymakers, researchers and planners for monitoring SDG implementation.

• Data Snapshot on SDG–NIF Progress Report, 2026: A concise handbook derived from the Progress Report.

• Presents national-level SDG indicators in a simplified and user-friendly format.

• Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework, 2026 (with Metadata): Handbook containing all 277 national SDG indicators along with detailed metadata, data sources and reporting periodicity.

• Transforming Lives: India's Achievements under the People Dimension of the SDGs: First thematic SDG bulletin aligned with the People pillar of the 2030 Agenda.

• Covers India's progress under:

                    SDG 1: No Poverty

                    SDG 2: Zero Hunger

                    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

                    SDG 4: Quality Education

                    SDG 5: Gender Equality

• Highlights major government initiatives supporting human development and India's commitment to "Leaving No One Behind."

Key Findings of the Reports

• Social Development: Population covered under social protection systems increased from 22.0% (2016) to 65.3% (2026).

• Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined from 122 (2015–17) to 87 (2022–24) per 100,000 live births.
• Sex Ratio at Birth improved from 896 to 918 females per 1,000 male live births between 2015–17 and 2022–24.
• Share of female professionals and technical workers increased from 48.7% (2023–24) to 51.3% (2025).

• Economic Development: Unemployment rate declined from 6.1% (2017–18) to 3.1% (2025).

• Total internet subscriptions more than tripled from 302.36 million (2015) to 969.10 million (2025).

• Agriculture & Food Security: Plant genetic resources conserved increased from 4.33 lakh to 4.92 lakh (2014–15 to 2025–26).

• Animal genetic resources increased from 1.40 lakh to 3.62 lakh.
• Fish genetic resources increased from 47 to 105.

• Environment & Climate: Installed renewable energy capacity increased from 64.04 watts per capita (2014–15) to 193.36 watts per capita (2025–26).

• Number of waste recycling plants increased from 829 (2019–20) to 3,236 (2025–26).
• Ramsar sites expanded from 4.15% to 8.66% of India's total wetland area between 2016 and 2026.

About the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 under the resolution "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."

• The framework came into effect on 1 January 2016.

• It consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, 169 targets, and a Global Indicator Framework (GIF) for monitoring progress.

• The SDGs integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with the core principle of "Leaving No One Behind."

• In India, MoSPI is the nodal agency for SDG data monitoring and has developed the National Indicator Framework (NIF) in consultation with Ministries, NITI Aayog, UN agencies and other stakeholders.

• The NIF 2026 contains 277 national SDG indicators covering all 17 SDGs and is periodically reviewed by the High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC) chaired by the Chief Statistician of India.

• NITI Aayog has mapped SDG targets with Central Government schemes to mainstream SDGs into national and state-level planning.

• At the global level, India represents the Southern Asia region in the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). It is also a member of the Task Team on Lessons Learned for strengthening the Global Indicator Framework.