New Delhi: Child malnutrition, gender inequality, equitable access to safe water and environmental pollution are some of the factors hindering India’s march to progress, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Wednesday, adding that there is a “long road ahead” the country needs to traverse to achieve Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.
He also asserted that saving planet earth has to be a collective effort of the countries and reminded the relevance of the adge ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family).
He also expressed concern that India ranked 120 in the 2021 Sustainable Development Goals Index in which Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark topped the list. “This is the matter that has to be taken seriously,” he said.
The vice president made these remarks at the virtual inaugration of Association of Indian Universities annual meet here.
“We must remember the fact that saving the planet ought to be a collective effort of all countries. We can ill-afford to lose sight of the relevance of the adage ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ in this context,” he said.
India, with the second-largest population, is one of the critical countries where the achievement of the SDGs will be essential for realising the 2030 Agenda in the next decade, he noted.
“Poverty and illiteracy are challenges we need to surmount as a society in our quest to achieve SDGs. Other factors which are hindering our march to progress include child malnutrition, gender inequality, equitable access to safe water and environmental pollution. Thus, there is a long road ahead that India needs to traverse to achieve SDG Agenda 2030,” he said.
Achieving SDGs is not the responsibility of any particular organisation, ministry, or government, he said noting that it needs a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including civil society, industries, NGOs, and most importantly, the educational institutions.
The contribution of educational institutions is of critical importance. Primary, secondary and higher education institutions need to consciously adopt practices that lead to the achievement of SDGs, he opined.
“Colleges and universities have a bigger and a key role to play in this regard. They can contribute in a number of ways such as research, policy development, and engagement with societies for creating awareness and effective implementation of sustainable development strategies, apart from preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century,” he said.
Unfortunately, so far, most of the higher educational institutions have remained almost disconnected from the SDG Agenda 2030. When it comes to integration of the SDGs in the operations of higher education institutions, “we still have a long way to go,” he lamented.
Suggesting that India needs to overhaul its education syatem, Naidu said the new National Education Policy is a farsighted document which is bound to transform the educational landscape of the country.
Its recommendations, the vice president said, are aligned with SDG and its scope and vision encompass complete overhauling of the Indian educational system from pre-primary to higher education along with curricular reform to institutional reform in a phased manner.
Referring to the ancient knowledge systems of India in the form of Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas, he said the versatility of knowledge systems and culture make them relevant forever.
PTI
