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In September 2015, member countries of the United Nations came together to adopt ‘Agenda 2030’ with seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and 169 Indicators. This is the most comprehensive and ambitious global development agenda in the history of humanity.

Importance of local governments in achieving these goals has been recognized by the United Nations and also by local government associations. In India, approximately 68 per cent of population lives in rural areas and any effort to localize SDGs brings Gram Panchayats, village level local governments, in focus. This book makes an effort to understand the specific role Gram Panchayats can play in attainment of twelve identified SDGs; namely no poverty, end hunger, health, quality education, gender equality, water and sanitation, economic growth and decent work, reduced inequalities, combat climate change, protect ecosystems and forests, and peace and justice. The book tries to understand the importance of these SDGs in the context of rural India. It further attempts to examine initiatives taken by central, state and local governments in addressing these gaps and challenges. Recognizing the inadequate devolution of functions, funds and functionaries, infrastructure, staff and capacity in most states, chapters advocate for empowerment and enablement of Gram Panchayats for them to effectively play their role in attaining SDGs. Several success stories of Gram Panchayats have also been given in the book.

This book is very useful for policy-makers at national and state level, elected representatives and functionaries of Gram Panchayats and also for students of rural development, local governance and public administration.

Contents: 1. SDG–1: Eliminate Poverty in All its Forms Everywhere/Subrat Kumar Mishra. 2. SDG–2: End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition/Binoy Acharya. 3. SDG–3: Ensure Health and Well-Being of All/M.N. Roy. 4. SDG–4: Ensure Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning/Rashmi Sharma. 5. SDG–5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls/Anjali Makhija. 6. SDG–6: Make Available and Manage Clean Water and Sanitation/S.S. Meenakshisundaram. 7. SDG–7: Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy/Vandit Vijay, Priyanka Singh and Virendra Kumar Vijay. 8. SDG–8: Promote Economic Growth, Productive Employment and Decent Work/M. Tauqueer Khan. 9. SDG–10: Reduce Inequalities/Yogesh Kumar. 10. SDG–13: Take Urgent Actions to Combat Climate Change/Rajesh Kumar Sinha. 11. SDG–15: Protect Ecosystems, Manage Forests and Halt Biodiversity Loss/A.K. Goyal. 12. SDG–16: Promote Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions/Shyam Singh.