Thank you Mr. President,

I am honored to share India's perspectives on the important issue of sustainable development.
India associates itself with the statement delivered by the distinguished delegate of Ecuador on behalf of the Group of 77.

Mr. President,

The adoption 2030 agenda with a set of Sustainable Development Goals has enabled the world to renew its faith in multilateralism and in collective action. Globally, the action on its implementation has picked up with greater focus. It is heartening to note that within the last two sessions of the High Level Political Forum, about one third of the member states have presented their Voluntary National Reviews, re-affirming their commitments to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. 

In the spirit of sharing experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learnt to accelerate the implementation of the Agenda 2030, India along with 42 other countries presented its voluntary national review (VNR) in July this year. In addition, we organized a special side event on 'Transforming India: Eradicating Poverty, Promoting Prosperity' which enabled adequate time a freewheeling discussion with the multi-stakeholder representatives. 

Apart from sharing the experience of implementing the SDGs, we also shared the experience of preparing and presenting the VNR itself with the fellow members who are to present their VNRs in the following sessions. 

Mr. President,

India's national development goals are mirrored in the SDGs. We are progressing towards achievement of Agenda 2030 with a whole of the government approach with unity of purpose and unity of efforts at all levels. The responsibility for overseeing SDG implementation has been assigned to the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India. We have dedicated one day in each session of our Parliament for discussions only on the progress made on SDGs. 

The expression 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas,' which translates as 'Collective Effort, Inclusive Growth' forms the cornerstone of India's national development agenda. To fast track this agenda, the Government of India has recently released a draft Three-Year Action Agenda covering years 2017-18 to 2019-20. In parallel, work is in advance stages on a 15-Year Vision, which will also include a 7-year Strategy. These documents are being prepared with active participation of the State Governments and other stakeholders.   In a dynamic environment, this three-year action plan enables government to focus on short-term goals within the context of longer-term policy objectives.

Effective tracking of progress on the SDGs requires accessible, reliable, timely and disaggregated data at all levels, collection and use of which poses a major challenge to national and international statistical systems. In this regard we welcome the adoption of the Global Indicators Framework with the possibility of annual refinement of the indicators and very much appreciate the work of Inter-agency Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG on SDGs). In India, the draft indicators for tracking the SDGs have already been developed and placed in the public domain by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for wider consultation.

Mr. President,

The 2030 Agenda also recognizes that the scale of the challenges that lie ahead requires an unprecedented scale of Global Partnership to help the effective achievement of SDGs. In this regard, we welcome Secretary General's proposals for repositioning of UN Development System including a funding compact with an aim to mobilize greater resources as well as to correct the imbalance between core and non-core funding. In such a scenario, we certainly cannot afford any diversion of funding meant for development to other exigencies. 

On our part, we continue to expand our development partnership over a wide range of sectors for capacity building with fellow developing countries across continents, especially with those in more vulnerable situations in the spirit of south-south solidarity. In June this year, we established India-UN Development Partnership Fund with an aim to enhance our contribution to the South-South Cooperation, as a means to achieve the Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development.

Mr. President,

Climate change is a critical component of sustainable development as it impacts public health, food and water security, migration, and, peace and security. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has said 'The protection of the environment and the mother planet is an article of faith'. Walking the talk, India's climate action plans are a reflection of our strongest commitment to contribute with our full might to the global fight against climate change. We are substantially reducing the emission intensity of GDP, tapping non-fossil fuel energy sources and creating additional carbon sink.

India welcomes the initiative of the Secretary General to renew the focus on Climate Action.
India, along with partner countries, is building an International Solar Alliance that would contribute to transition towards renewable energy globally.

Mr. President,

The world is witnessing an increase in natural disasters due to extreme weather phenomena. With a firm resolve, India's remains committed to fully embracing the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in June this year released the National Disaster Management Plan. For enhanced regional collaboration, India along with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) hosted the biennial Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Titled 'Risk Sensitive Development for Community Resilience' in New Delhi in November 2016. 

In line with the commitment made by the External Affairs Minister of India during the recent High Level Segment of UNGA, we are extending our support to the rebuilding efforts of the countries affected by recent hurricane disasters through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

Mr. President,

Allow me to conclude by re-emphasizing India's steadfast commitment to sustainable development and to the spirit of development partnership for implementation of 2030 Agenda globally.

I thank you.