(a) whether the Government has drawn any guidelines to meet the Millennium
Development Goals which are likely to be achieved by many countries of the world by 2015;
(b) if so, the details of such goals expected to be achieved by the year 2015 and thereafter; and
(c) the steps proposed to be taken in this regard alongwith the estimates of expenditure to achieve these goals?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING (SHRI M.V. RAJASEKHARAN)
(a) to (c): The Government has not drawn any specific guidelines to meet the
Millennium Development Goals. However, the Millennium Development Goals
are quite similar to the objectives and targets laid in different Five Year Plans. In
fact, some of the targets as specified in the Tenth Five Year Plan document
relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, maternal mortality, school
enrolment, etc. are more ambitious than the ones specified in the Millennium
Development Goals. The various steps proposed to be taken to achieve these
targets have been specified in the Tenth Five Year Plan as well as in the Mid-
Term Appraisal to the Tenth Five Year Plan. Some of these include raising public
investment in different sectors particularly power, roads, greater focus on health
and education, improving governance and enhancing the efficiency of delivery
systems, etc. The details are available in the Tenth Five Year Plan document as
well as in the Mid-Term Appraisal to the Tenth Five Year Plan, which have been
placed in the Parliament Library. No estimates are available on the expenditure
that will be required to meet the Millennium Development Goals.