Sustainable Development

Introduction to Sustainable Development:  

Sustainable development is a concept that arose out of a growing awareness of an impending ecological crisis caused by a rat race among nations for economic growth in terms of gross domestic product or per capita income.

The Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development is: “Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present (people) without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet their own needs”.It is improving the current generation’s quality of life while minimizing the use and abuse of natural resources so that they can be preserved for future generations.

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In 1972, at the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, the term was first coined. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) published “Our Common Future” in 1987, which is the most important piece of writing on sustainable development. 170 countries signed many important documents on sustainable development and environmental preservation at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Need for sustainable development

In the areas of economic development and environmental depletion, several issues require attention. As a result, the concept of sustainable development is critical to address the following issues:

• To slow or halt the deterioration of the environment
• To ensure that human life is not jeopardized
• Checking exploitative technology and looking for alternatives
• To prevent the overuse and wastages  of natural resources
• Renewable energy resources to be regenerated

Components of sustainable development: 

Various criteria have been used to discuss the components of sustainable development, depending on the context and decision-making levels. The elements can be broken down into three categories: social, economic, and environmental.

• Social components

  • Workers Health and safety 
  • Quality of life and impact on the local communities
  • Underrated groups’ benefits
  • Reduce the negative influence on human health

•  Economic components: 

  • New markets are being created, as well as prospects for sales growth
  • Cost savings are achieved through increased efficiency and improvements, as well as lower raw material and energy inputs
  • Additional value creation

• Environmental components: 

  • Reduce waste, wastewater output, and environmental pollution
  • Utilization of renewable resources
  • Toxic chemicals must be removed

Sustainable Development Goals in India (SDGs)

The United Nations approved the Sustainable Development Goals in India (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, in 2015 as a global action call to eradicate poverty, safeguard the environment, and guarantee that by 2030, everyone would live  in peace and prosperity.All the 17 SDGs are interconnected, that recognizes the actions in one area have an impact on outcomes in others and that development must strike a balance between social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

The Sustainable Development Goals in India(SDGs) aim to eradicate poverty,quality education, clean water and sanitation,  hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls,health.

The sustainable goal in India

India played a key role in the development of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals in India mirror much of India’s National Development Agenda (SDGs). The world’s progress towards achieving the SDGs is primarily dependent on India’s success. However, the SDGs may be difficult to absorb and understand, with 17 goals, 169 targets, and 306 national indicators, and defining and quantifying progress may be tough.

While governments around the globe debate how to implement and monitor progress toward the Goals, the NITI Aayog has taken the initiative by releasing the SDG India Index – Baseline Report 2018, which demonstrates how the SDGs will be measured in India. The NITI Aayog published the Baseline Report of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, which details the progress achieved by India’s states and union territories in achieving the 2030 SDG objectives.

The SDG India Index was created by NITI Aayog and covers 13 of the 17 SDGs (leaving out Goals 12, 13, 14, and 17). The Index measures the success of all States and Union Territories (UTs) on a set of 62 National Indicators, which track the outcomes of the Government of India’s actions and programs. The SDG India Index aims to present a comprehensive picture of the country’s social, economic, and environmental situation, as well as those of its States and UTs.

The SDG India Index is a broad metric that governments, corporations, civil society, and the general public can all understand and apply. It was made to give an overall evaluation of all Indian states and union territories, and to assist leaders and changemakers in evaluating their performance on social, economic, and environmental aspects. Its goal is to track India’s and its states’ progress forward towards 2030 SDGs.

Leading States/UTs can be identified by reading SDG India Index scores within each Goal:

• Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have no poverty
• Goa and Delhi are suffering from hunger, while Kerala and Puducherry are suffering from poor health. Kerala and Chandigarh Offer High-Quality Education
• Kerala, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Equality
• Gujarat and Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep have clean water and sanitation
• Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh Offer Low-Cost, Clean Energy
• Goa and Daman and Diu have good jobs and economic growth, while Manipur, Delhi, and Puducherry have good industries, innovations, and infrastructure
• Reduce Inequality: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Telangana and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep
• Sustainable Cities: Goa, Andaman, and Nicobar Island
• Land Ecosystem: Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Manipur, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep
• Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry

Conclusion

In a world where nature-society imbalances can jeopardize economic and social stability, sustainable development is primarily about people, their well-being, and equity in their interpersonal relationships.Climate change, its sources, repercussions, and policy responses will all interact with economic output and services, human settlements, and human societies, making it a crucial role in many areas’ long-term growth.At the same time, development paths may raise or lessen climate-change vulnerability. Development that intensifies land usage in places prone to extreme weather events or sea-level rise, for example, increases the risk of climate change impacts.