An Evaluation of Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals Related to Poverty, Education and Health in India

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015 is one of the greatest challenges, faced by the developing countries including India, in present times. Also, there is a large disparity across and within the states and rural urban population in key demographic and socio-economic indicators. In this context, the aim of this paper is to examine the progress in achieving the millennium development goals related to poverty, education and health, in India and states. The paper utilized data from multiple sources- National Family and Health Surveys-II and III, Sample Registration System, Elementary education in India, District Information System for Education (DISE) 2009-10 and MDG India Country Report 2011. The percentage of poor below the poverty line is estimated at 26.7% by 2015, against the target of 23.9%. Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) is likely to achieve by 2015 but the quality of education is still questionable. The third and fourth goal that targets to reduce child and maternal mortality falls short of 10 percentage points in case of under 5 mortality and 30 percentage points in case of maternal mortality.