MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an agreed set of goals (objectives) that can be achieved if all actors work together and do their part. Poor countries have pledged to govern better, and invest in their people through health care and education. Rich countries have pledged to support them, through aid, debt relief, and fairer trade. The Goals that were formulated in 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit are set to be achieved by 2015. These are not mere development objectives; they encompass universally accepted human values and rights such as freedom from hunger, the right to basic education, the right to health and a responsibility to future generations.

GOAL1

India’s achievement in poverty reduction is one of the leading factors in the global action against poverty. With more than 2.3 billion people in India and China alone, their major advances in poverty reduction drive developing world averages. The target set for poverty reduction is 19% population below the poverty line by 2015. The Indian Planning Commission expects to meet the poverty target and miss the target for hunger eradication.

GOAL 2

It is easy to track outcomes such as the construction of school facilities, the filling of vacancies and training of teachers, success in enrolment, and reductions in drop out rates. However the real outcome is quality of education. Literacy in India varies among states, regions and social groups. Scheduled Tribes and Schedules Castes have the lowest literacy rates, whereas Christians have the highest. 

GOAL 3

India’s approach to bridging the gender divide is improving women’s literacy. Female literacy has gone up from 39% in 1991 to 54% in 2001. This is still below the 75% literacy rate for men in 2001.  The male-female literacy gap has reduced from 25% in 1991 to 22% in 2001. The literacy gap between the sexes is also higher in rural than in urban areas. The National Literacy Mission that started in 1988 has been working to improve women’s literacy and reducing the gender gap.

GOAL 4 

Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India. According to the Planning Commission, India is unlikely to achieve the targets for child mortality and infant mortality by 2015. IMR has been steadily declining in India from 146 in 1951 to 58 in 2005.  However, the rate of decline in IMR slowed after 1993.  Infant Mortality Rate is higher in rural areas than urban and higher for girls than boys.

GOAL 5 

As of 2001-03, India’s MMR is 301 with over a little over 48% births being attended by skilled health personnel. The Planning Commission projects that India will miss the MMR target for 2015, which is less than 109. Hospital based data shows that states that have relatively better socio-economic status and higher educational levels (such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra) also have lower rates of MMR.  The Government of India has launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005 to improve basic health care delivery system in India. 

GOAL 6 

Over 60% of all HIV cases in Asia live in India.  According to the National AIDS Control Organisation’s estimates, India had about 25 lakh HIV infected people in 2006.  HIV cases are high among commercial sex workers, injecting drug users, and men having sex with men.  However, infection from blood transfusions and transmission from mother to newborn is low.  The National Health Policy (NHP) sets out a number of goals to address HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.  NHP aims to reduce mortality by 50% on account of TB, malaria, other vector and water-borne diseases, to achieve zero level growth of HIV AIDS, and to increase health expenditure by govt to 2.0% of GDP by 2010. 

GOAL 7 

India has 16% of the world’s population, but its share of fresh water sources is only 4%. However, the Planning Commission is confident that India will meet the target of halving, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. The National Water Policy (2002) emphasises conservation and sustainable use of water, and prioritises its use for drinking, hydro-power, agriculture, industries and ecology.  Government programmes on water relate to extension of irrigation systems, watershed programmes and rainwater harvesting.
GOAL 8
India’s target focus within this goal is to make available the benefits of technology to a wider mass in cooperation with the private sector. The country’s growth story of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has put India in the lead in the global services trade. There has also been marked progress in the telecom sector. The share of private telecom operators has increased to over 65% by the end of March 2007 due to positive and proactive government policies. The number of internet users has also increased to 3.5 persons per 100 from 2001 to 2006.