UNDP to Collaborate with NITI Aayog on Sustainable Development in India

New Delhi, Oct 11 (KNN) In a significant move towards achieving sustainable development goals, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced its partnership with India's premier think tank, NITI Aayog.

This collaboration aims to support India's efforts in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as revealed by Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP's Assistant Secretary-General and Head of Asia-Pacific.

During her recent visit to India from October 3-8, Wignaraja met with key government officials, including Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog.

The meetings resulted in concrete plans for UNDP to provide technical support for India's third Voluntary National Review (VNR), a crucial process for assessing national progress on sustainable development goals.

The UNDP's support will encompass data analysis, facilitation of engagement with civil society organisations and citizen groups, outreach assistance, and follow-up on the review's recommendations. This partnership underscores India's commitment to the 2030 Agenda, to which it is a signatory.

India's role in achieving global sustainable development goals cannot be overstated. Home to one-sixth of the world's population, the country has developed a robust SDG localisation model at state and district levels, as evidenced by the SDG India Index.

Moreover, India has been supporting other developing countries through the USD 150 million India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

Expanding on existing initiatives, the UNDP plans to support more Indian state governments in establishing SDG coordination and acceleration centers. Currently, such centers exist in 10 states and union territories, including Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Wignaraja also highlighted the need to focus on emerging sectors such as renewables and technology for creating quality jobs. She pointed out the challenges in traditional sectors like agriculture, suggesting modernisation as a potential solution to improve job quality and pay.

The UNDP official noted a unique trend in India's labor market: a leap from agriculture to the service sector, bypassing manufacturing. This has resulted in lower women's participation in manufacturing jobs. Wignaraja emphasised the need to incentivise women's participation in the labor force, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

This collaboration comes at a crucial time for India's economy. While the country's growth has been predominantly driven by the services sector in recent years, particularly in IT, banking, and finance, the manufacturing sector's share in both output and employment remains at 16-17 per cent, below the government's 25 per cent target.

The Economic Survey 2023-24 indicates that India needs to create 7.85 million jobs annually in the non-farm sector to accommodate its growing workforce.

However, recent data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy shows a surge in the national unemployment rate to about 9 per cent in June, up from 7 per cent in the previous month, highlighting the ongoing challenge of job creation.

As India continues its journey towards sustainable development, this partnership between UNDP and NITI Aayog represents a significant step forward in addressing these complex challenges and working towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.

(KNN Bureau)