
KOCHI: The Union government’s Economic Survey 2024-25 makes special mention of Kerala’s success in localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The survey says the state offers a replicable model for SDG localisation. And the hand-holding provided by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to the local self-government department has also not gone unnoticed. The proof is in the help sought from KILA by around eight states, including Karnataka and Jharkhand, in securing ISO for good governance, the survey said.
Speaking to TNIE, a KILA official said, “The institute helps LSGs develop comprehensive guidelines and processes to incorporate SDGs into local planning.” When the list for the 2022-23 Panchayati Raj awards was released by the Union Ministry for Panchayati Raj, KILA won the award for the best training institute in the country, the official pointed out.
“Now, the mention in the Economic Survey comes as another feather in our hat,” the official said, adding that the process of localisation of SDGs had begun in Kerala two years ago and all the data needed for the same had been collected during that time. “In Kerala, the first step towards this process began through capacity-building training for people via awareness campaigns. Every person from every department involved in the nine themes highlighted by the panchayati raj ministry was given training,” the official added.
In Kerala, training was carried out as per the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts of the Constitution. “The state was first in the country to strategise the entire process to ensure proper achievement of SDGs,” the official said.
According to the Economic Survey, Kerala uses a robust, community-based model that leverages its strong local-governance institutions. “Awareness and community engagement efforts focus on educating local officials on the relevance of poverty alleviation and environmental resilience, which are led by state and national leaders. The LSG department, with technical support from KILA, has developed comprehensive guidelines and processes to incorporate SDGs into local planning. They also train stakeholders in SDG-aligned development and data collection,” it said.
“The state has a real-time SDG dashboard to monitor the panchayats and can use such localised data for decision-making and to provide insights on development indicators,” it highlighted. Localisation efforts are driven by the SDG Coordination Centres (SDGCCs) in states and UTs by governments in partnership with implementing agencies.