“Ask not what your country can do for you — rather ask yourself what you can do for your country." - JOHN F KENNEDY
Today, the world is a home to the largest generation of the important drivers of global change and innovation i.e. the youth, contributing about 43% of the global population. A temper of the will, quality of imagination, the predominance of courage, and an appetite for adventure make this huge cohort a vibrant, constructive force that can address global issues and create a more just, equitable, and peaceful world.
The empowered youth from diverse backgrounds from food to fashion to finance are the forerunners of assessment, awareness, action, and advocacy for sustainable development. They are the main stakeholders, policymakers, powerful resources in handling responsibilities, revolutionizing fellow men, and a catalyst for change.
Sustainable development is an overarching paradigm of the United Nations. This concept was described by the 1987 Brundtland Commission Report as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.” Thus, it envisages a future agenda that balances the four pillars i.e. social, economic, cultural, and environmental objectives.
Through a wide process, the UN Sustainable Development framework consisting of 17 Goals and 169 interlinked Targets within these Goals are framed in an ambitious, pragmatic, and concrete way to renew and integrate efforts to meet the national and global aspirations within a defined time frame by 2030. The vision involves social spheres like gender equality, education, and health, economic issues like growth, infrastructure, sustainable consumption, the environment through climate change, and peaceful partnerships for sustainable development.
The SDGs are the source of inspiration that guarantees poverty alleviation, and protection of the environment with social, monetary, and natural sustainability. The SDGs intend to tackle hunger, AIDS, and gender discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic though has hampered the efforts to accomplish the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the citizens should join hands to make it a successful program for our future generation to live in harmony.
Mother India, a young nation, has 250 crore arms and 200 crores of those arms are younger than 35. They are brought up with the ideology of Gandhiji - “Be the change you want to see in your country” to make India a strong and self-reliant nation.
Youth act as critical thinkers with their energy, voice, and actions. They can identify and challenge the existing powers and expose the barriers to change. They are an effective force by suggesting alternative concrete solutions through the right to vote and encouraging people to advocate change in political decisions.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have been an important yardstick for measuring the progress in tackling the challenges by 2030. To fulfill those demands and goals, the universality of the data from the countries around the world and the methodologies accelerate the progress to help make the SDGs possible.
The statistical tools, Data engineering, data analysis, information technology, and research methods are the various standards of measurements for data compiling, decision making, and action.
Statistics is a constructive measure in achieving SDGs in concrete ways. Data from the developing countries help in critically analyzing the extent of poverty-stricken areas, measuring various tools of reducing poverty, mapping the poor urban slums, the gap between the rich and poor, geographical securities, basic access to the poor, employment of the youth, export of public goods and services that in turn determines the economic security of a country.
Various ministries like the GODAN, the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition program, and the government nutrition data help in analyzing inflation, food prices, food security, pesticide control, environmental factors like weather and soil for crops, livestock, farming, etc.
The beneficiaries also get benefitted through the application-based technology of finding the healthcare providers and pharmaceuticals and getting the right medication and advice.
Statistics help the Government agencies and NGOs through the Census and health data to highlight the shortcomings in the quality-based school education, sanitation, maternal health, and menstrual hygiene of the girls in turn contributing to the social reforms of a nation.
Global warming and climate change has been the burning issue in today’s world where GPS and satellite data come into play in predicting weather changes, management of drought-stricken areas, floods, disaster, forecasting the power output from renewable wind and solar sources, etc., and ensure that the essential resources are deployed effectively in emergencies at the right time.
The proper functioning of the government and its transparency is determined by the extensive, diverse, and timely data from the effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all strata.
Statistics being a communication tool it has impacted a lot in explaining the global issues through the policymakers, civilians, private sector, and media and help in navigating the task of national coordination, reporting the SDG indicators, tracking progress at various levels, and quality assurance
The concept of “smart cities” in India also involves meticulous sensors like urban planning, transportation, urban infrastructure, traffic, refreshments, parking, migrants, etc.
The statistical tools boost economic growth by improving transparency in governance by exposing mismanagement in corruption and ensuring environmental sustainability that can tackle upcoming pollution, and health hazards and conserve natural resources
The data also play a key role in promoting a sustainable environmental analysis through publications which allows us to better understand how to achieve the environmental dimension of development and establish the focus on the relationship between the SDGs and nature.
Being a tool for accountability and an impact assessment, the use of structured and standardized formats emphasizes the importance of comparison of data across sectors and countries that make it easier to assess the impact of development initiatives over time, geographies, and finances with noted progress over time against the SDGs, both within each country and between countries, and revealing the insecurities in income, wealth and access to services and establish international cooperation.
In India, the magnSDG's magnitude demands a strong inclusive, participatory, gender-responsive, comprehensive, and knowledge-based policy priorities on education, health, and employment.
United India is where-
Poverty and Illiteracy are histories,
Education becomes the priority
Agriculture and Health work in symphony,
Women and Children live in harmony,
Wildlife, Heritage, and Technology live with integrity