Lok Sabha Question No. 1628 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Sustainable Development Goals
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Dr. Manna Lal Rawat, Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Kali Charan Singh, Shri Damodar Agrawal, Ms. S Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1628 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

## 1628.SHRI BIBHU PRASAD TARAI:

Dr. MANNA LAL RAWAT:

SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

Ms. S JOTHIMANI:

SHRI CHINTAMANI MAHARAJ

Smt. MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH:

SHRI KALI CHARAN SINGH:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps to improve realtime data availability for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the district/block level and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has come across specific instances where the data provided by the Government has helped in targeted interventions or resource allocation for backward regions;
- (c)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the major platforms such as SDG India Index or other digital dashboards being used to track progress at the national and State level and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Union Government has taken steps to improve data accuracy, interoperability and integration across Ministries and State for better planning and monitoring and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS  AND  PROGRAMME  IMPLEMENTATION,  MINISTER  OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND  MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  CULTURE  (RAO

INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a), (b) & (c): India has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the  SDGs  by  utilizing  nationally  defined  indicators  that  reflect  the

country's unique priorities and developmental needs. In this regard, Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme  Implementation  (MoSPI)  has developed  the  National  Indicator  Framework  (NIF)  for  SDGs  in consultation with concerned Ministries/ Departments, UN Agencies and  other  stakeholders  to  facilitate  monitoring  of  the  SDGs  at national level.  In  pursuit  of  integrating  the  SDGs  into  national  and sub-national policies and programmes, NITI Aayog has aligned the SDGs  with  centrally  sponsored  schemes  across  various  Central Ministries and Departments. To further this vision, the Government of India has launched a series of nationwide welfare and developmental programs, guided by its overarching commitment to 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas" in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals' motto of "Leaving No One Behind." States/UTs  hold  the  primary  responsibility  for  the  follow-up  and review  of  progress  in  implementing  the  Sustainable  Development Goals (SDGs) at the state, district, and local government levels. To effectively  track  their  achievements,  States  are  encouraged  to develop  their  own  State  Indicator  Frameworks  (SIFs),  as  per  their specific  developmental  priorities,  data  needs,  infrastructure,  and resource availability. In recognition of this, MoSPI has been actively extending technical assistance to States and UTs in the formulation, review,  and  refinement  of  SDG  monitoring  frameworks  at  the  subnational level. In this endeavor, in 2019, the Ministry formulated and circulated  Guidelines  to  the  States/UTs  for  crafting  their  State/UT level monitoring framework. The guideline was subsequently updated in March 2022 as part of the report titled "Guidance on Monitoring Framework on SDGs at the Sub-national Level." (d): SDG India Index & Dashboard released by NITI Aayog, monitors the  performance  of  States/Union  Territories  (UTs),  benchmarking them based on their overall achievements across various goals. The Index  underscores  the  varying  levels  of  progress  and  challenges among  States  and  Union  Territories  in  achieving  the  Sustainable Development  Goals.  The  fourth  edition  of  SDG  India  Index  was released in 2023. According to the SDG India Index Report 2023-24

released  by  NITI  Aayog,  the  country's  overall  score  has  improved from 66 in 2020-21 to 71 in 2023-24. The State/UT-wise progress on SDGs are in public domain and can be accessed at https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-07/SDG\_India\_Index\_2023-24.pdf . (e):  MoSPI  has  circulated  a  National  Meta  Data  Structure  (NMDS) designed with the objective that data and information are uniformly represented, provide clarity on the data sources, collection methods and enhance discoverability of datasets. It is to bring in improved understanding of various data sets in public domain such as census,

surveys, administrative and those from other sources.

Also,  MoSPI  has  circulated  the  Statistical  Quality  Assessment Framework  (SQAF)  which  aims  to  bring  in  improvement  in  the National Statistical System by laying down quality parameters and corresponding good practices for statistical processes and products. The  framework  provides  a  self-assessment  kit  for  assessing  the quality of statistical products and processes by diagnosing the areas of its strength and weaknesses.

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