Kerala leads India in Sustainable Development Goals Journey

As part of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Unite Nation’s Sustainable Development Summit, 2015 adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for its member countries. SDGs aims at development of critically important areas across globe such as eradicating poverty and hunger, providing healthy lives and quality education, achieving gender equality, providing modern energy, promoting sustainable economic growth, reducing inequality, etc. SDG Report, 2023 ranked India 112 out of 166 countries with country score of 63.4. India followed robust localisation model to achieve SDGs and prepared state level SDG Index report for India. Kerala ranked top among the states in all indices of development including SDGs. SDG India Index, 2020-21 ranked Kerala first in the country with overall score 75, and whereas the corresponding national score was 66. Consecutively, over last three years (2018, 2019, and 2020), SDG Index, ranked Kerala top among the states. Many of the SDGs adopted by India have already been achieved by Kerala.

Goal wise performance has also placed Kerala a frontrunner among the states. The proactive and multidimensional interventions of the Government helped to achieve these goals. State wise performance ranked Kerala second among the states in ‘No poverty’ SDG (1), with 83 score, (Tamil Nadu ranked first with 86 score), and the corresponding score was 60 at national level. The robust implementation of MGNREGA in rural areas, Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (AUEGS) in urban areas, one lakh new enterprises created as part of the ‘Year of Enterprises’ in 2022-23) which created 2,20,285 new employment opportunities etc., are among the reasons contributed to reduce poverty. In 2021-22, under MGNREGA, about 16.45 lakh household received job and 1059.66 lakh persons day generated. Under AUEGS, about 2.45 lakh job cards were issued, and created 46. 33 lakh person days in various Municipalities and Corporations in 2021-22. The poverty eradication mission in the name of Kudumbashree, Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme, Ashraya Programme, etc. are remarkable. Due to the concrete efforts, Kerala has the least Multidimensional Poverty (i.e. 0.002) among the states in the country according to NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2023, i.e. the only states with less than one percent of people poor.

Kerala ranked first among the states with 80 score in SDG 2, ‘No Hunger’, and the corresponding national score is 47. The Government of Kerala is committed to food security to all sections of its people, especially vulnerable and marginalised. The system of universal PDS with coverage of 92.5 lakh families has been instrumental to wipe out
hunger from the state. The Government provide food grains at free of cost to AAY families, the poorest of the poor. Through Supplyco outlets, Government is retailing 13 essential goods at reasonable price below open market, about 40 lakh families monthly get benefited. Besides, hundreds of other consumable items are retailing through supplyco at price less than the open market, and whereby helped to control inflation in the state. Schemes such as ‘Hunger Free Kerala scheme, community kitchen, Janakeeya Hotels, mobile ration shops, flood relief, festival food kits, COVID-19 pandemic food kit, etc., helped to wipeout hunger from the state. As a result of the comprehensive efforts, Kerala ranked first with 80 score among the states in ‘No Hunger’, SDG 2 and the corresponding national score is 47. Our achievements in health, education and social justice have received worldwide recognition.

Kerala, the only State in India with very high Human Development Index of 0.709, comparable to contemporary developed nations of the world. The state with highest literacy and 100 percent enrollment at elementary level and lowest dropout rate according to UDISE+ Report 2021-22. Gender gap in education is relatively low in Kerala. Therefore, in SDG of ‘Quality Education’, Kerala ranked first among the states. Kerala has the universal access and coverage to health care facilities. According to NITI Aayog’s State Health Index for 2019-20, Kerala retain its top rank among the larger States with an overall score of 82.2. In all health indicators like the life expectancy (75 years), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR, 6), Maternal Mortality Ratio (19), etc., the state ranked first among states. In SDG of ‘Good Health and Wellbeing, Kerala is the front runner among the states. Aardram Mission like comprehensive scheme further improved health infrastructure in the States. Regarding other SDGs such as energy, clean water and sanitation, infrastructure, inequalities, climate actions etc., Kerala is frontrunner in the county. Kerala is the only State in the country with 100 per cent metered water and electricity connections. Kerala topped among the states for affordable and clean energy index of SDG in the country. Kerala is the second-best performing state as per NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) published in 2022. The road connectivity is high, and road density in Kerala is 548 km per 100 sq. km, which is roughly three times the national average. The hill highway, coastal highways etc. further enlarged road connectivity. Robust implantations of the schemes, universal access to basic amenities of life like food, shelter, health, education etc., high material quality of life, comparable low gender gap in development, reduced rural urban gap etc. placed Kerala front runner among the states since the inception of SDGs in the country