Punjab Government on Wednesday inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As per the agreement, signed in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, by UNDP Resident Representative Shoko Noda and Punjab Government Principal Secretary (Planning) Jaspal Singh, a Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre (SDGCC) would be set up in the Planning Department with UNDP’s support.
“The MoA would result in integration of administrative departments to ensure sustainable and holistic development of the state. I hope these goals would go a long way in achieving the desired results of various citizen centric schemes and development oriented programmes in a time-bound manner,” said the Chief Minister.
Responding to a brief presentation on Skill Development, Employability and Livelihoods made by the UNDP senior advisor, Capt Amarinder asked the Employment Generation Department to tie up with the UN agency to explore new possibilities for the skill development as well as self-employment and better employability of the youth in the private sector.
Citing the success of his government’s flagship programme ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’, he assured the visiting delegation of all possible assistance in giving impetus to Skill Development and Employability plans.
Earlier, the Finance Minister thanked UNDP for partnering with Punjab for implementing the SDGs, whose framework has already been adopted by the Punjab Government, which has started working on the preparation of a four-year Strategic Action Plan, 2019-23 (4SAP).
Besides lying down clear goals and targets, 4SAP involves determination of the key performance parameters (KPPs) for key functionaries of the departments.
Notably, the State Government has already approved 4SAPs of eight departments after extensive consultations at the level of the Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary.
The SDGs are a set of 17 goals which universally call for an action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre being set up in partnership with the UNDP would help State Government deliver on the SDGs by working on the five components — Integrated Strategic Planning and Implementation, Awareness and Capacity Building, SDG localization, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships and Monitoring and Evaluation.
It would also ensure that the State Indicators Framework is developed as per the National Indicators Framework and a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation plan is in place to measure performance against targets.