The move is aimed at fast-tracking India’s progress towards the sustainable development goals, the Aayog said in a statement.
The MoU is signed for a period of five years. As per the MoU, NITI Aayog will be the nodal institution for coordinating the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national levels while UNDP will play the integrator role in coordinating efforts to fast-track progress on the SDGs within the UN system.
“Over the years, NITI Aayog and UNDP’s collaboration has grown from strength to strength. With monitoring going beyond districts down to the block level, we see this partnership fostering data-driven policy interventions and programmatic action,” NITI Aayog’s chief executive officer BVR Subrahmanyam said.
“Standing at the midpoint of the 2030 agenda, we look forward to working together with the states in the true spirit of cooperative federalism as well as partnering with UNDP to showcase and share India’s successes in realizing its development priorities to its peers,” Subrahmanyam added.
“Midway to 2030, India’s leadership is critical for making the SDGs a reality. India nearly halved multidimensional poverty between 2015-2016 and 2019-2021, demonstrating that despite complex challenges, accelerating progress towards the Goals is possible,” Shoko Noda, resident representative, UNDP India said.“Through this MoU with NITI Aayog, UNDP stands ready to enhance its support for localization of the sustainable development goals, data-driven decision-making through various indices, the aspirational districts and blocks programme, and SDG financing,” she said, adding that UNDP will also provide support for NITI Aayog’s work on women’s livelihoods, innovation, and Mission LiFE.