India’s score in the NITI Aayog SDG India Index & Dashboard has increased to 66 in 2020-21 from 60 in 2019-20. Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the economic survey of India for FY22 on Monday.

The survey highlights India's progress in its sustainable development goals. It noted the performance of states and UTs on the NITI Aayog SDG India Index, 2021. The number of fort runners increased to 22 states and UTs in 2020-21 from 10 states and UTs in 2019-20. Chandigarh and Kerala were top performers on the list. As many as 64 districts were fort runners, and 39 emerged as performers in northeast India (North-Eastern Region District SDG Index 2021-22).

According to the survey, the significance of balancing rapid economic growth with conservation, ecological security and environmental sustainability focuses on the following areas:

Land Forests: The survey noted that India increased its forest area significantly over the last 10 years and currently ranks third globally in the average annual net gain in forest area between 2010 to 2020. The country's forest cover has increased by over 3% from 2011 to 2021, mainly due to a surge in very dense forests, growing by 20% during the period.

Plastic Waste Management and Single-Use Plastics: The survey also stated the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about phasing out single-use plastic by 2022. Recognising the need for the international community to act on this issue, India took a resolution on ‘Addressing Single Use Plastic Product Pollution’ at the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019.

The ‘Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021’ was notified under the domestic level, aimed to phase-out single-use plastic. The draft regulation on the ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ for plastic packaging has also been notified to strengthen the circular economy of plastic packaging waste, promote the development of new alternatives to plastics and sustainable plastic packaging.

Water: The groundwater resource management and research suggest that states/UTs need to carefully manage their groundwater resources, including recharge, and stem the over-exploitation. The survey mentions the finding that over-exploitation of groundwater resources is concentrated in the northwest and parts of southern India.

According to the survey, reservoir live storage was also noted to be is at its peak during monsoon months and lowest in summer months and hence requires careful planning and coordination of storage, release, and utilisation of the reservoirs.

Highlighting the number of sewage infrastructure projects developed under the ‘Namami Gange Mission’ since it started, the survey states the improvement in the compliance status of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) located in the Ganga and its tributaries from 39% in 2017 to 81% in 2020. There has been a reduction in effluent discharge from 349.13 million litres per day (MLD) in 2017 to 280.20 MLD in 2020.

Air: National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched by the centre with an aim to achieve a 20-30% reduction in particulate matter levels by 2024 across the country.

The survey mentions that the program is being implemented across 132 cities. It also states that other steps are being taken to minimise air pollution from various sources in the country, covering industrial emissions, air pollution due to dust and burning of waste, monitoring ambient air quality, and vehicular emissions.

The survey stated that India has exercised significant climate leadership on the global stage under the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT Group), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and International Solar Alliance (ISA).

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