With its score in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index improving from 57 in 2019 to 61 in 2021, Nagaland is now ranked 19th among the 28 States and eight Union Territories.
Mentioning this, Industries & Commerce, Labour & Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship adviser Imnatiba in his keynote address at a State-level workshop on North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index 2.0, SDG India Index, 2021-22 and Multidimensional Poverty Index held at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima on Tuesday claimed that Nagaland was making consistent progress in SDG Index, which focused on State-level performance.
Going by the NER District SDG Index, he noted that some districts of Nagaland were doing fairly well in certain goals like zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, quality education and gender equality. However, he acknowledged that more works were needed to be done for bottom-ranked districts and on some indicators at the State level.
Imnatiba also claimed that the Nagaland SDG Vision 2030 launched by chief minister Neiphiu Rio in August last year provided specific targets with measurable indicators and strategies to meet the aspirations of the people.
With technical support of UNDP and active collaboration from various State departments, he said the SDG Coordination Centre (SDGCC) of Planning Department was already making rapid strides towards achieving the goals.
Acknowledging that to achieve sustainable development Nagaland required to address its difficult geographical terrain, the advisor remarked that some key priority policy focus areas aligned to SDGs were universal access to healthcare & education, robust transport & communication infrastructure, effective & sustainable management system, innovative & industrial growth, balanced regional development and enhanced agricultural production & marketing facilities.
He also highlighted the two new initiatives recently announced by Rio in his Budget speech – the Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative and the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme.
He commented that the State government was committed to working together with all stakeholders to promote inclusive, peaceful and sustainable development for a better and brighter future with the slogans “Development for all” and “Leaving no one behind”.
With proactive participation from all departments, Imnatiba hoped that the workshop would lead to a deeper understanding of the State’s SDG performance and the importance of quality data for monitoring progress. He said this would act as a step to streamline the efforts toward implementing the SDGs.
In his address, UNDP North East India regional head John Borgoyary said the UN agency was closely partnering with the Government of Nagaland and would soon initiate a CSR initiative, which would be a part of the SDGCC. The aim would be to tap resources from the private sector and other development partners, and particularly target those areas under SDGs, he added.
He informed the participants that UNDP was partnering with the Directorate of Health & Family Welfare on universalisation of immunization. Highlighting the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN), a software application developed in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, he said the programme was being implemented in all States.
Borgoyary claimed that the programme had strengthened the healthcare system, especially in terms of addressing issues related to immunisation. As part of eVIN, he said COVID application had been developed in partnership with the Central government, which was now helping both the Centre and the Nagaland government in monitoring and managing COVID vaccinations.
Mimansa Mishra, Associate (SDG ) of NITI Aayog, gave a presentation on SDG India Index 2020-21, NER District SDG Index 2020-21 and context setting on version 2.0 and National Multidimensional Poverty Index.
The Planning Department gave a presentation on the progress of SDG localisation, while another presentation on the goal and indicator-wise presentation was given by NITI Aayog and discussed with the departments on SDG India Index 4.0
Technical session on “NER District SDG Index 2.0 SDG 1-8 and SDG 9-16: Presentation on Draft NER SDG Indicator Framework 2.0 on SDGs”, on concepts, methodology, definitions and computations, and discussion with State departments on district-wise data reporting and challenges were also held.
The way forward and summing up was done by UNDP Policy Specialist (SDGs) Jaimon Uthup.
The SDGs were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoyed peace and prosperity by 2030.
The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals and associated 169 targets designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs aim to “leave no one behind” and to “reach the furthest behind first”.
SDGCC was established with a mandate to act as a centre for knowledge dissemination, SDG monitoring, policy strengthening and an accelerator of SDG implementation across the State. This was stated in a press release.
Saturday, August 9, 2025