India Improves SDG Rank But Struggles On Environment

India ranked highest ever in the 2025 Sustainable Development Report at 99 out of 167 countries. This is a strong improvement from its position at 109 in 2024 and 112 in 2023. The report, authored by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, measures global progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and identifies the increasing commitment of India towards development. But even as the report highlights the improvement in performance, it projects a bleak record of India on environmental indicators, cautioning that the nation is still off-target on many fronts of sustainability.

The report discovers that while India has witnessed spectacular gains in access to electric power, clean cooking fuel, and sanitation, progress lags far from equitable across all the SDGs. Just one-third of the goals are "on track" to be met by 2030, and the majority are slowing or even reversing. It is particularly noteworthy that the nation is making great strides toward SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), both of which indicate India's ongoing economic growth and initiatives promoting social inclusion. But other major targets — SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) — are still moving in glacial pace.

SDG 13 (Climate Action) has slowed down the most, even in the wrong direction. India's unabated consumption of coal and increased industrial pollution are weakening climate action efforts. Whereas India has progressed a long way in the terms of renewable energy capacity — with renewables making up 45% of installed capacity — more than 70% of electricity grid is still coal-based. Debajit Palit of Chintan Research Foundation clarifies that although close to 100% Indian homes are now electrified, the energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. Palit also predicts the share of coal dropping below 50% by 2030, but warns that unless it accelerates the transition to clean energy, India won't be able to meet its climate targets.

India's record on SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) is rated as "moderately improving," but specialists emphasize that radical change is needed. Palit comments that while LPG has improved access to clean cooking, it is a fossil fuel, and the ultimate goal needs to be switching to electric cooking based on renewable energy.

Water sustainability is a massive problem. National figures show dramatic improvement — 80% of rural households now have drinking water that has been improved, and 85% have access to clean cooking fuel. But unsustainable use of water is a big problem, the report says. India has done little to push "water circularity" — recycling of water following industrial consumption, according to Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University's Venkatesh Dutta. He forebodes that industrial estates are functioning in already water-starved areas and stresses the importance of having strict policies requiring wastewater treatment and reuse.

Urbanization is gaining momentum, but Indian cities are lagging behind in addressing the sustainability issues. SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) performance is stagnated or deteriorating in all dimensions. Approximately 25% of urban Indians reside in slums, and air pollution remains a real health hazard. Recently, the World Bank made a statement that every individual in India is exposed to PM2.5 levels above WHO safety standards. According to Palit, low levels of compliance, old vehicle fitness tests, and resistance to shifting polluting industries are main obstacles to cleaner cities. He recommends evidence-based enforcement actions and reward-based resettlement schemes to stem urban pollution.

India's track record on SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) remains disappointing. India's economic progress has resulted in increased resource exploitation and emissions. While municipal solid waste management and recycling of e-waste are marginally improving, overall consumption patterns continue to propel natural resources.

The report also categorizes threats in SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Unsustainable fishing in the form of bottom trawling poses threats to marine biodiversity, whereas terrestrial ecosystems continue to face threats from deforestation, habitat loss, and soil degradation. No matter the number of conservation efforts being made, they have not been able to keep up with environmental degradation due to urbanization and industrialization.

Although India has gained ground in the Sustainable Development Report, experts advise against letting down guard. Unless prompt, implementable measures are taken to undo water wastage, coal dependence, rampant city pollution, and ecological damage, the nation's progress is lost, according to them. While the countdown is on for the 2030 target for the SDGs, India needs to move from policy commitment to action on the ground, particularly on the environmental front. It is only with a robust, frugal resource-based strategy that the nation can still sustain its development tempo while providing a greener tomorrow.