Modelling the sustainable development goals for India - An interpretive structural modelling approach

Abstract

In its resolve for a sustainable future, the UN has adopted 17 ambitious goals known as the sustainable development goals (SDGs) which aim to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years. The key challenge is how to concentrate efforts to effectively implement and achieve the SDGs by 2030. This paper aims to assess the importance of different SDGs from the perspective of India. It also aims to develop a hierarchical model for the adoption of the SDGs by India, for which the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach is used. ISM is a methodology for identifying and establishing relationships among the identified variables. The study variables comprise the 17 SDGs which are found to have a direct relatedness to common sustainability targets like poverty eradication, hunger elimination, reduced inequality, etc. These variables have also been mapped on driving power-dependence diagram and categorised accordingly.