UPSC DAW Mains Answer Writing 2025 19th September

UPSC DAW Mains Answer Writing 2025 19th September

Question

SDG3 is most crucial yet demanding goal in India’s SDG journey. Analyse 

Model Answer

Introduction: 

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 is the most crucial and important goal to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages. 

Reasons why SDG 3 is crucial for India: 

  1. Economic growth:  When citizens are healthy, they can work and participate more effectively in the economy. 

  2. Societal well-being:  SDG 3 is connected to other goals including No Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Gender Equality (SDG 5), and Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6). 

  • Example:  

More productive populations are no longer poor and can work productively.  SDG 3 includes targets for ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services. This empowers women and girls by giving them control over their bodies and family planning. 

  1. Quality health care:  The goal is to ensure that everyone can access quality health services without suffering financial hardship, ending preventable deaths of newborns, and promoting mental health. 

  2. Disease control:  By achieving SDG 3, India can reduce the burden of both persistent communicable diseases (like tuberculosis and HIV) and the rapidly increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. 

  3. Achieving universal health care:  “Universal Health Coverage” (UHC) signifies that all people should have access to quality health services when in need, without facing any financial hardship.  By implementing SDG 3, India can ensure everyone receives the necessary quality health services—preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative—without financial hardship. 

SDG 3 as a demanding goal in India’s journey of sustainable development: 

  1. Persistent healthcare inequalities:  There is a significant shortage of doctors, nurses, and specialists, particularly in rural areas. High vacancy rates for medical professionals persist in PHCs and CHCs, especially in less-developed states. 

  • Example:  According to the National Medical Commission (NMC), the doctor-population ratio in the country is 1:834, but the major challenge is the uneven distribution of doctors and healthcare facilities. 

  1. Inadequate health financing:  India's public health expenditure is low compared to other developing nations. 

  • Example:  As per the Economic Survey, the Total Health Expenditure (THE) in FY22 is estimated at 3.8 per cent of GDP, which is below the average of 5.1% for developing countries.  High out-of-pocket expenditure pushes millions of households into poverty annually. 

  1. Dual burden of disease:  India faces the dual challenge of the coexistence of communicable and non-communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. 

  • Example:  The direct health expenditure on treating tobacco-related diseases alone accounts for 5.3% of total private and public health spending in India annually. 

  1. Quality of health care and access:  Healthcare facilities are heavily concentrated in urban centres, leaving rural and remote areas with poor access to quality medical care.  Public healthcare institutions suffer from overcrowding and poor infrastructure, forcing many, even the poor, to seek more expensive private care. 

  2. Widespread societal issues:  While India's maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has been declining, it remains high in some states, particularly in socioeconomically weaker regions.  Child malnutrition indicators like stunting and wasting also remain high. 

  • Example:  According to the Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2021, the child mortality rate is 27 per 1000 live births in 2021. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of the country is 93 per lakh live births in 2019–21, which is above the SDG 3 target for 2030. 

Government steps: 

  1. India launched health insurance and access initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance and Ayushman Arogya Mandir to deliver a comprehensive range of services, leveraging telemedicine and integrated digital health records to bridge rural-urban healthcare gaps. 

  2. The government launched the National Food Security Act for food security. 

  3. National Health Mission (NHM): Aims to provide universal access to quality healthcare services, especially for vulnerable populations. 

  4. Mission Indradhanush for child and maternal immunization. 

Conclusion: According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals Index 2025, India ranks 99th out of 167 countries. India’s entry into the top 100 of the SDG Index highlights progress in health care and other sustainable development goals. However, to achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda, urgent multilateral cooperation, financing reforms, local engagement, and focused implementation strategies are required.