ABSTRACT
India places itself fifth out of seven South Asian countries in the global ranking on the Sustainable Development Goals. India has achieved rapid economic growth over the past two decades. However, growth has not been accompanied by structural changes or decent work and employment generation. There has been progress in poverty reduction and education, but the severe agrarian and employment crises may put even the progress thus far under threat. National and state level public policy and public spending urgently need to be directed towards SDGs including improving health and nutritional outcomes. All of these dimensions suffer from vertical and horizontal inequalities, reversing which will require dedicated action. Measures to achieve the SDGs need to be moulded to the federal institutional structures, and the structures in poverty reduction, education and health services delivery are discussed. The way forward would be to universalise public provisioning of essential services to ensure that the goals are met and all citizens have access to their basic needs.
