Assessing progress towards Sustainable Development Goals: A regional disparity analysis

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, represent a universal call to action for advancing a more prosperous future for all. The present study examines the advancements and disparities in achieving the SDGs across various states and union territories (UTs) in India since 2015. The study considers secondary data derived from the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s SDG Index. To fulfill the outlined objectives, the study utilizes statistical analyses, including the T-test, ANOVA, and Spearman correlation analysis. The findings reveal substantial progress in SDG achievements across the states and UTs. However, progress towards individual goals remains inconsistent over the study period. The ANOVA results confirm disparities in SDG progress across regions. Additionally, the t-test results demonstrate a significant gap between financial and general SDGs. The SDG interaction analysis confirms that the maximum number of goals synergizes with other goals. This study enriches current literature by providing empirical insights into SDG progress and disparities across states and UTs for the first time in the Indian context. However, the study is constrained in its ability to describe the progress and disparities of SDGs across states and UTs. Future research endeavours may delve into the underlying factors contributing to uneven progress.