Development after 2015: Ten Goals to Make a Difference for Those Left Behind in India

This Oxfam India policy paper summarises the outcomes of consultations and studies around this question: What new framework will make a difference for groups in India that face acute poverty and social exclusion? It considers: addressing inequalities and exclusion; impacting the politics of poverty in sovereign nations; and financing the goals in a context where the role of aid is diminishing. The paper proposes to address these challenges via 10 goals that build on the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework, with a focus on helping make a difference for those at the very bottom.

It is noted here that the Millennium Declaration decade saw the introduction of major social policies in India (e.g., the right to education, the right to 100 days of minimum wage employment for rural households, and several programmes aimed at supporting access to health and housing for the economically poorest). Yet, overall, "India's attitude towards the MDGs has moved from reluctance to a relative lack of interest: it criticised the absence of consultation before defining the goals....The new framework will need to strike a fine balance: it needs to create effective leverage points on domestic policies and help domestic stakeholders hold their government accountable, while taking into account the sensitivities of sovereign nations. More challenging yet, it needs to do so while focusing on social exclusion..."

The framework suggests 10 goals organised for 2030:

1. "Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Reduce inequality and enhance voice and participation [e.g., "Women and men from socially excluded groups are represented in elected assemblies (local and national) in proportion to their total percentage."]
3. All women attain their basic economic, social and political rights
4. All children attain their right to basic education
5. Ensure access to quality essential healthcare for all
6. Ensure decent and secure housing for all
7. Reduce vulnerability and safeguard basic rights [e.g., "Prevention and protection policies safeguard the basic rights of women and men affected by disasters and conflicts."]
8. Preserve and manage natural resources so as to fulfill the basic needs of all in culturally appropriate ways
9. Bring humanity back into an environmentally safe space
10. Secure funding through progressive tax and resource allocations"

It is noted that partnership and advocacy are key to the relevance of this proposed new framework. Will it succeed in setting up a mechanism to hold sovereign governments accountable without antagonising them? "In particular, the framework's role in pushing for better data disaggregated along group and gender lines will determine whether the focus on social exclusion is effectively mainstreamed across relevant goals. The demand for comprehensive group-disaggregated data has played a significant role in mobilisations by Dalit and women's organisations. The requirement to report group-wise progress on the goals, with a gender-wise disaggregation for each group will back their long-time demands for better data and for the related improvements in national systems of measurements. The UN [United Nations] should set up the frameworks with the following requirements:

• Data for all targets should follow basic parameters to ensure its coherence across countries; it should be disaggregated by socially excluded groups and gender on all relevant goals; measurements on the use of natural resources should be in line with scientific assessments.
• An independent domestic body involving civil society organisations, the government and the corporate sector should monitor progress on all goals. It should push to strengthen national systems of data collection in accordance with reporting requirements."

According to the document, outlining clear and rigorous indicators for all 10 targets will be more challenging than it was for the current MDGs: Indicators will need to capture structural changes on targets such as accessing quality public services and attaining basic rights.