Indian Perspectives on Social Sector Issues and Sustainable Development Goals

A vast range of issues has been debated and discussed in India in the context of the social sector during the last decade, including the right to education, land rights, food security, health for all, gender equality, women’s empowerment, livelihood and employment guarantee. Successive governments have also tried to promote the idea of sustainable and equitable economic growth and development but the reality is that high levels of both economic and social disparities continue to exist. Contemporary political discourse contains recurring references to increasing inequality in society in both developed and developing nations. Against this background the international community, in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), developed a new template of sustainable development goals (SDGs)—17 goals and 169 strategies for the implementation of a global development agenda. However, in a country as diverse as India, equitable development can be brought about only through the implementation of broad-based inclusive social policies backed by an adequate reservoir of financial resources. It was felt that the character and contour of such an approach for development thus needed debate and discussion and it was in this context that a two-day national seminar, Indian Perspectives on Social Sector Issues and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policies, Prospects and Future Directions, was organised by the Council for Social Development to arrive at a consensus on social development.