Data Revolution For A Sustainable World

Almost one-and-a-half years since the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it has become imperative to understand the progress that has been made so far.

- Ananya Narain

2015 was a momentous year for change. September 5, 2015, at a historic UN Summit, the world leaders decided on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as Global Goals, of the 2030 Agenda officially came into force on January 1, 2016. The goals, built on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), continue to address the main issue of poverty while simultaneously addressing issues of ensuring more equitable development and environment sustainability. The Sustainable Development Goals highlights the world’s biggest and gravest issues for the government of the 193 countries to shape their strategies and policies around these goals for implementation, monitoring and management. In many ways, these goals act as a catalyst for innovation and growth opportunities so as to drive sustainable socio-economic growth.

It is almost one-and-a-half years since the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and it has become imperative to understand the progress that has been made since then. Unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals are a universal agenda. The 2030 Agenda is focussed on both developed and developing economies and it is the level of advancement that is taking place in the developing economies which shall ultimately define the progress report of the Global Goals. As Arun Kapuria, Founder, iTech Mission puts it, “We are just starting. It took over a year for the indicators to be finalized, so there is a lot to be done. To collect the SDG data, frameworks are yet being established.” In agreement is