ABSTRACT
The recent 21st-century example of immense kindness and compassion of the global humanity was evident in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. By early 2021, vaccines were available, and people started getting vaccinated – an exemplary accomplishment of all those involved in health sciences. The critical role of public policy is also brought out by Alfani who investigated the historical trends in wealth and income inequality over a long period. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the United Nations to be achieved by the world by 2030 range from “no poverty” to “quality education” and from “reduced inequality” to “peace and justice”. The social progress index (SPI) is one of the fine attempts in the “going beyond GDP” movement. SPI is an all-encompassing measure of social progress based on social and environmental metrics. The World Social Report, 2020, is like a stock-taking exercise on some of the key sustainable development goals.
