MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS:INDIA'S PROGRESS SO FAR Anewreport from the Ministryof Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)captures India’s achievements and challenges in respect to the United NationsMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs). According to the report, while India has maderemarkable progress in several sectors, achieving all the MDGs appears unlikely. On thechallenge of reducing povertybyhalf, with 21.9 per centof the population belowthepoverty line in 2011, India has alreadyachieved the targetwell ahead of time. The countryhas also successfully eliminated gender disparity in primaryand secondaryeducation.Further, it has successfullymanaged to control the spread ofdeadlydiseases such as AIDS,malaria and tuberculosis. Buton other indicators, India is likely to miss the target. Thecountry is unlikely to meet the targetof reducing the proportion ofunderweight childrenbyhalf. Further, it is unlikely to reduce under-five mortalityby two thirds and maternalmortalityby 75 per cent

Gender Parity Index: The ratio of the number of female students enrolled to the corresponding number of male studentsSource: Millennium Development Goals, India country report 2015, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

TARGET: To reduce the number

of poor by half from 47.8% in

1990 to 23.9% in 2015

STATUS: Achieved the target with

only 21.9% below the poverty

line in 2011

TARGET: To reduce the

proportion of underweight

children below 3 years from 52%

in 1990 to 26% in 2015

STATUS: Falling short of target

with expected proportion of

underweight children to be 33%

in 2015

TARGET: Ensure that by 2015,

all children complete a full course

of primary education.

STATUS: Likely to fall short with

Net Enrolment Rate (NER) in

primary education (age 6-10

years) estimated at 88.08% in

2013-14

TARGET: Eliminate gender

disparity in primary, secondary

education, preferably by 2005,

and in all levels of education, no

later than 2015

STATUS: On track to achieve the

target with Gender Parity Index

(GPI) of Gross Enrolment Ratio

(GER) in primary education at

1.03 in 2013-14, at 1.0 in

secondary education and 0.89 in

tertiary education

TARGET: Reduce by two-thirds

the under-five mortality rate

between 1990 and 2015

STATUS: Missing the target

narrowly with under five

mortality ratio, estimated to

decline from 125 deaths per

1,000 live births in 1990 to 48

deaths per 1,000 live births

TARGET: Reduce by 75% the

Maternal Morality Ratio (MMR)

between 1990 and 2015

STATUS: Near the target with

MMR declining from 437 per

1,00,000 live births in 1990 to

140 maternal deaths by 2015

TARGET:Have halted by 2015

and begun to reverse the spread

of HIV/AIDS

STATUS: On track as prevalence

of HIV among pregnant women

aged 15-24 years has declined

from 0.89 % in 2005 to 0.32%

in 2012-13

TARGET: Have halted by 2015

and begun to reverse the

incidence of malaria and other

major diseases

STATUS: Moderately on trackas

the Annual Parasite Incidence (API)

rate – malaria has come down

from 2.12 per thousand in 2001

to 0.72 per thousand in 2013,

but then increased to 0.88 in

2014. Tuberculosis prevalence per

lakh population has reduced from

465 in year 1990 to 211 in 2013

TARGET: Integrate the principle

of sustainable development into

country policies and programmes

and reverse the loss of

environmental resources

STATUS:Moderately on track

with forest cover increasing, but

CO2 emissions increasing

TARGET: Halve the proportion of

people without sustainable access

to safe drinking water and basic

sanitation by 2015

STATUS: On trackwith proportion

of households withoutaccess to

safe drinking water sources halved

in rural areas and is likely to be

achieved in urban areas.

TARGET: To have achieved a

significant improvement in the

lives of at least 100 million slum

dwellers by 2020

STATUS: No discernable pattern.

Census 2011 reported that

17.2% of urban households are

located in slums, with a 37.14%

decadal growth in the number of

slum households.

TARGET: In cooperation with the

private sector, make available the

benefits of new technologies,

especially information and

communication

STATUS: On track, with overall

teledensity in the country at 76%

as on 31 July, 2014, and internet

subscribers increasing from

16.15% of the poulation in June

2013 to 20.83% in June 2014