SDG 1: No poverty is the first goal out of the 17 Sustainable development goals as agreed upon in the year 2015. Goal number one- ‘End poverty in all its forms everywhere’ under this goal by 2030 we need to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere in the world. Currently, people living on $1.25/day are called to be in extreme poverty. In this article, we will study SDG1: No Poverty which is important for UPSC Examination.

What are Sustainable Development Goals?

• The Sustainable Development Goals agenda was adopted by all United Nations members in 2012 at the Rio De Janeiro Council Meeting, with the goal of promoting a healthy and developed future for the planet and its people.
• The Sustainable Development Goals were implemented in 2015, following a successful fifteen-year development plan known as the Millennium Development Goals.
• The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of seventeen pointer targets that all UN member countries agreed to work on for the betterment of the country's future.
• The documentary "Future We Want," which was shown at the Rio+20 conference, proposed a post-2015 development agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an intergovernmental agreement designed to serve as the post-2015 Development Agenda, succeeding the Millennium Development Goals.
• It is a set of 17 goals, 169 targets, and 304 indicators proposed by the United Nations General Assembly's Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Following the negotiations, the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit adopted the agenda titled "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." The Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 produced the SDGs, which are non-binding documents.

Sustainable development goal 1: No poverty

• The fact that global poverty is decreasing is of little comfort, as there is a slowing in the reduction of extreme poverty.
• In 2015, nearly 10% of the population lived in poverty. Even with declining poverty rates, it is estimated that nearly 6% of the world's population will be impoverished in 2030.
• Poverty persists as a result of acute deprivation, exclusionary processes exacerbated by natural disasters.
• Social protection systems help by alleviating distress and creating conditions for people to escape poverty, but they frequently do not reach all intended people or are insufficient to meet the goals.
• Even having a job, for example, could not help 8 percent of the world's workers escape extreme poverty in 2018.
• Only 22% of unemployed people receive unemployment benefits, 28% of severely disabled people receive disability benefits, and only 41% of new mothers receive maternity benefits.
• Natural disasters, on the other hand, are causing deaths and economic losses in many countries, frequently reversing poverty escapes by vulnerable groups.

Global Picture

• A multifaceted strategy is in place to eradicate poverty, which is central to India's national development agenda.
• Maintaining an annual GDP growth rate of 8% in real terms is a critical component of the strategy for creating remunerative jobs for new entrants as well as those facing redundancy in agriculture or other sectors.
• Second, targeted programs help the economically disadvantaged increase their income by developing agricultural infrastructure and support services, creating productive assets, and developing skills and entrepreneurship.
• Social protection measures and risk mitigation from natural and other disasters ensure that unforeseen calamities do not hinder poverty-reduction efforts.

Targets

• Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030, which is currently defined as people living on less than USD1.25 per day.
• Reduce the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all of its dimensions by half by 2030, according to national definitions.
• Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floor levels, and achieve significant coverage of the poor and vulnerable by 2030.
• By 2030, ensure that all men and women, particularly the poor and vulnerable, have equal access to economic resources and basic services, as well as ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology, and financial services, including microfinance.
• Build the resilience of the poor and vulnerable people by 2030, and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events, as well as other economic, social, and environmental shocks and disasters.
• Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including enhanced development cooperation, to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, particularly least developed countries, to implement programs and policies aimed at eradicating poverty in all of its forms.
• Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional, and international levels that are based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies to support increased investment in poverty-eradication actions.

Measures were taken by the Indian Government

Extreme and Multidimensional Poverty

• Extreme poverty, as measured by the World Bank's International Poverty line, has decreased from 21.2 percent in 2011 to 13.4 percent in 2015.
• Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, multidimensional poverty fell by half to 27.5 percent, lifting over 271 million people out of poverty.
• All ten indicators showed a significant reduction in deprivation.
• Nutrition, child mortality, school years, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, and assets are all factors to consider.
• At the sub-national level, India demonstrated a clear pro-poor pattern, with poverty reduction in rural areas outpacing that in urban areas.
• The improvement in average attainment in all of the above ten indicators among the bottom 40% outpaced that of the total population

Social protection and Safety Nets

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act protects rural workers from unemployment for at least 100 days of wage employment per household per year (MGNREGA)
• In addition to ensuring employment, the program contributes to the development of agricultural infrastructure and productive assets, which improves rural livelihood opportunities.
• During 2018-19, the scheme generated over 2.7 billion person-days of employment, and so far in 2019-20, it has generated 1 billion person-days of employment.
• Women make up a sizable proportion of beneficiaries, as do members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, who account for 55% and 38% of all person-days of work generated in 2018-19, respectively.

Access to Basic Services

• The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana provides vulnerable communities with access to a variety of financial services such as banking, credit, insurance, and pensions (PMJDY)
• Thus far, 377 million accounts have been opened, with deposits totaling INR 1079 billion.
• PMJDY also allows for direct benefit transfers to beneficiaries' accounts and improves the effectiveness of social security provisions.
• The implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) program strengthens the goal of universalizing primary healthcare.
• By 2022, nearly 1,50,000 Sub-Centres and Primary Health Centres will be converted into Health and Wellness Centres to provide comprehensive, affordable, and high-quality primary care close to home, ensuring inclusivity and equity.
• Ayushman Bharat, the program's complementary component, aims to provide health insurance coverage of up to INR 5,00,000 per family per year for secondary and tertiary institutional care to 500 million beneficiaries from over 100 million poor and vulnerable families.
• 89.4 million people have already enrolled in the program, and 3.4 million have used the services.
• Disadvantaged and vulnerable people, including the elderly, widows, and people with disabilities, received pensions through the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), which distributed INR 200 billion to 243 million beneficiaries in 2018-19.
• Initiatives have been launched to make life insurance, personal accident insurance, and pensions more accessible to workers in the unorganized sector.
• Access to safe housing is a critical component of essential services, as ensured by the "Housing for All by 2022" initiative.
• Economically disadvantaged households are given financial assistance to build houses equipped with basic amenities.
• Under the Saubhagya scheme, all households in the country now have access to electricity.
• Building Resilience
• India is vulnerable to a wide range of natural disasters.
• Nearly 60% of the landmass is seismically vulnerable, 12% is vulnerable to floods and river erosion, 76% of its rambling coastline of more than 7500 km is vulnerable to cyclones and tsunamis, and slightly more than two-thirds of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts.
• The risks of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies, as well as other human-caused disasters, remain high.
• The National Policy on Disaster Management (2009) is in place, as mandated by the Disaster Management Act 2005, and calls for proactive prevention, mitigation, and preparedness-driven approach, marking a paradigm shift from the previous relief-centric strategy.
• The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the SDGs, are incorporated into the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), which focuses on disaster resilience.

Chall​enges

Implementation Challenges

• The government's commitment to eradicating poverty can be realized if state/union territory initiatives supplement national-level efforts.
• Greater coordination is required between Centrally Sponsored/Central Sector schemes, State government schemes, and local development initiatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies.

The regional Disparities

• India's states reflect enormous socioeconomic diversity and disparities. A large portion of India's poverty is concentrated in rural areas and low-income states.
• In terms of the proportion of people living below the poverty line, the differences between states/UTs are stark: Chhattisgarh has 39.93 percent of its population living in poverty, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands have 1 percent.
• In Goa, the percentage of people living in poverty fell from 13.8 percent to 5 percent between 2004-05 and 2011-12.
• Chhattisgarh, on the other hand, has only seen a marginal decrease, from 40.9 percent to 39.93 percent.

Rapid urbanization

While rapid urbanization has brought a variety of economic benefits, it has also brought enormous challenges, most notably in the form of demand-supply gaps in housing, infrastructure, employment, and other economic opportunities and services.

Conclusion

The first goal of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is to eradicate poverty in all of its forms everywhere. It advocates for social protection, improved access to basic services, and increased resilience to the effects of natural disasters, which can devastate people's resources and livelihoods. The international community has agreed, through the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, that economic growth must be inclusive, particularly for the poor and vulnerable, and that extreme poverty for all people everywhere must be eradicated within the next 15 years.

FAQs

MCQs

1. Which of the following is a key focus area of SDG 1?

A. Sustainable energy
B. Eradicating poverty
C. Building infrastructure
D. Environmental conservation

2. Which program is associated with providing financial inclusion in India?

A. Swachh Bharat Mission
B. Ayushman Bharat
C. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
D. National Food Security Act

3. Which act guarantees employment to rural households in India?

A. National Food Security Act
B. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
C. Ayushman Bharat
D. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

4. Which of the following schemes helps build climate resilience among Indian farmers?

A. National Food Security Act
B. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
C. Ujjwala Yojana
D. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

5. What is a major challenge in achieving SDG 1 in India?

A. Low literacy rates
B. Urbanization
C. Regional poverty disparities
D. Declining birth rates

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Analyze the role of financial inclusion in reducing poverty in India.

Answer: Financial inclusion plays a pivotal role in poverty reduction by providing the poor access to banking services, microfinance, and credit. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) empower the marginalized by giving them a formal avenue for savings and access to credit. This facilitates their participation in economic activities and builds financial resilience, particularly in rural areas. Digital payment systems and mobile banking have further strengthened financial inclusion, contributing to economic stability.

Q2: Evaluate the impact of MGNREGA on poverty alleviation in rural India.

Answer: MGNREGA has been instrumental in reducing poverty in rural India by guaranteeing 100 days of employment to rural households. It provides income security and improves the purchasing power of the rural poor. By focusing on sustainable development projects like water conservation and afforestation, it contributes to long-term rural development. However, delays in wage payments and limited awareness in some areas have hindered its full potential.

Q3: Discuss the challenges in achieving SDG 1 in India.

Answer: Despite India’s progress in poverty reduction, several challenges remain in achieving SDG 1. Regional disparities, particularly between rural and urban areas, continue to exacerbate poverty. Additionally, rapid urbanization has led to the rise of slums and informal work sectors where poverty remains prevalent. Climate change and its impact on agriculture further push vulnerable populations into poverty. Structural reforms, increased social protection, and climate adaptation programs are needed to address these challenges.

Previous Year Questions on SDG 1

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2020

Question: Which of the following schemes aims at financial inclusion in India?
A. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
B. Ayushman Bharat
C. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
D. National Rural Livelihood Mission

Answer: C

Explanation: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) focuses on ensuring financial inclusion by providing access to banking services for the unbanked population.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2018 (GS Paper 2)

Question: Examine the role of social protection systems in achieving SDG 1 in India.

Answer: Social protection systems like MGNREGA, Public Distribution System (PDS), and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) have played a crucial role in reducing poverty in India. These programs ensure access to basic services like food, employment, and social security, protecting vulnerable populations from economic shocks. However, issues like inefficient implementation, regional disparities, and inadequate coverage need to be addressed for these programs to fully contribute to achieving SDG 1.