Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State (IC), Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India, mentioned that business and government must partner for sustainable development of India. He was speaking at the launch of NITI Aayog and CII Partnership on SDGs, at the Government and Business Partnership Conclave in New Delhi on 8 August 2018, organised by NITI Aayog, Confederation of Indian Industry and UN.The Minister said that in sustainable development three things matter the most: energy, water and circular economy/green industry. To action his 2022 agenda, he expressed confidence that India will achieve its clean energy goals even earlier than 2022 and urged everyone to be conscious and responsible towards the environment.Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, in his address highlighted the high pace of urbanisation of India at a time when the countries such as USA and Europe are almost through with this process. Given our population, Shri Kant emphasised, the only way to grow and develop sustainably is to use technology to leapfrog: use new and renewable energy and push for R&D and innovation to generate demand for electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, etc. and to find local solutions for 7 million strong population around the world.’
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Coordinator, said that ‘conditions in India are favourable due to its nature, history and demography, to come up with solutions towards a sustainable and circular economy for the world to emulate.’Shri Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President CII, and Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises Ltd stressed that the current theme of CII 2018-19 ‘India RISE: Responsible. Inclusive. Sustainable.’ is aligned with the sustainability agenda.Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, mentioned that CII’s nine Centres of Excellence are well-aligned to the SDGs.CII-NITI Aayog have entered into a three-year partnership and an MoU was signed. This partnership focuses on specific activities that seeks to develop: 1. Vision and Action Agenda for businesses and industries to contribute to SDGs; 2. Annual Status Reports; 3. Sector-specific Best Practise Documents. On this occasion Dr Ashok Kumar Jain, Adviser, NITI Aayog, spoke about the partnership and welcomed CII for innovative initiatives going forward.CII launched the report—Indian Solutions for the World to Achieve SDGs. The report deep-dives into each of the SDGs, targets and business implications thereof. The report cites examples that illustrate how companies have incorporated the SDGs framework into their business strategy and gone about achieving them.Distinguished Participants in the Conclave included senior officials from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and representatives of several State governments like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.