Do MDGs Matter? India's Development Trajectory in the 21st Century

  • Rajesh Tandon
Volume 44 Number 5-6
Published: January 21, 2016
https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-5436.12052
Current discourse on post‐2015 development goals needs to be situated in the context of the influence of MDGs in shaping national policies and programmes. In this article, India's development trajectory and its impacts are critically analysed to demonstrate the near absence of influence of MDGs discourse on Indian development planning or outcomes. The analysis also focuses on the political economy of India's development trajectory and identifies absence of governance reforms as the key deficit in meaningful impacts on the lives of people in India. In sharp contrast to the High Level Panel's recommendations on post‐2015, the author proposes an alternative set of goals focusing on reforming governance in India.
From Issue: Vol. 44 No. 5-6 (2013) | Whose Goals Count? Lessons for Setting the Next Development Goals