India has achieved 5 of 12 targets under MDGs: Govt

India has already achieved 5 of the 12 target under UN's Millennium Development Goals and is close to achieving four more by 2015, Parliament was informed today.
"MDGs consist of eight goals. Achievement under these goals are statistically tracked on the basis of 12 targets. Out of these 12 targets, India has already achieved 5 targets," Statistics Minister V K Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
He further informed the House,"...For another four targets, Indian will be close to achievement by 2015. India is lagging behind in respect of 2 targets and progress under one component is not statistically discernible."

MDGs are international development goals that UN member states and numerous international organisations, including India, have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.
These include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality; reducing the child mortality rate and ensuring environmental sustainability.
The minister's statement revealed that India is on track as far as reducing the proportion of poor to half between 1990 to 2015 is concerned.

It also stated that the country is on track regarding the targets which envisaged primary education for all students and eliminating gender disparity at all levels of eduction by 2015.

According to minister's statement, India is also on track to half and reveres the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases by 2015.
The country is also on track in the area of cooperation with the private sector, making available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
It further revealed that there is moderate progress on reducing child mortality ratio by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 and integrating the principal of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing environment loss.
India's progress is slow on reducing maternal mortality ratio to three quarters and halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger between 1990 to 2015.

As per the MDGs targets, India has to half by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
However, the minister's statement said India is on track to achieving the indicator for drinking water but there is slow progress on sanitation.
India has to achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. But this target or pattern is not statistically discernible, the Minister's reply stated.