Which of the following department has been declared as the Nodal Department for the effective implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Rajasthan?

Correct — option (3), Planning Department.

Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21 answers this in almost the stem's own words. Its executive summary says “Planning Department has been declared as the Nodal Department for the effective implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in the state.”

The chapter on Sustainable Development Goals repeats it: “Planning Department is the Nodal Department and Centre for SDG Implementation is working in Directorate of Economics and Statistics.”

So the department is the Planning Department, with the working Centre for SDG Implementation placed in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics for data on indicators and review of progress.

The idea to remember: SDGs in Rajasthan: Planning Department is nodal; the SDG Centre sits in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics; the state committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Chief Minister’s Office — The Economic Review 2020-21 names the Planning Department, not the Chief Minister's Office, as nodal for SDGs.

  At the top of the SDG structure it places a state level implementation and monitoring committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, not the Chief Minister.

• (2)
  Directorate of Industries — Industries has a nodal role of its own, but for a different task. The same Review says the Department of Industries is the nodal department for Ease of Doing Business initiatives, and for promoting industries and handicrafts in the State.

  For Sustainable Development Goals it names the Planning Department.

• (4)
  Human Resource Development Department — The Economic Review 2020-21 does not give this department the SDG role. It names the Planning Department as nodal, with the Centre for SDG Implementation in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

  For the goals themselves, the Review says 8 Sectoral Working Groups have been constituted.

The Sustainable Development Goals come from “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, adopted at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015. It has 17 goals and 169 targets, which came into force on 1 January 2016.

The Economic Review 2020-21 says NITI Aayog is nodal for SDGs in India and MoSPI has designed the National Indicator Framework.

Within Rajasthan, the Review names the Planning Department as nodal. The Centre for SDG Implementation collects data on indicators and periodically reviews progress, and the State has released a district-level Sustainable Development Goals Index 1.0.

Key facts

• Economic Review 2020-21: Planning Department is the nodal department for effective implementation of SDGs in Rajasthan.
• The Centre/Cell for SDG Implementation works in the Directorate of Economics & Statistics.
• A state level implementation and monitoring committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary; 8 Sectoral Working Groups have been constituted.
• District level SDG committees are chaired by District Collectors; the Review says all 33 districts constituted them.
• UNGA adopted the 2030 Agenda on 25 September 2015: 17 SDGs and 169 targets, in force from 1 January 2016.

Common traps

• Confusing the nodal department with the body where the SDG Centre works: Planning Department is nodal; the Centre sits in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.
• Mixing state and national roles: NITI Aayog is nodal for SDGs in India, the Planning Department for Rajasthan.
• Carrying one nodal role over to another task: the Department of Industries is nodal for Ease of Doing Business, not SDGs.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21, the state level SDG implementation and monitoring committee is chaired by the

  • (a)Chief Minister
  • (b)Chief Secretary
  • (c)Governor
  • (d)Minister of Planning
  Answer(2) — The Review says the committee is institutionalized under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. Options (1), (3) and (4) are not named as its chair.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21, the Centre for SDG Implementation in the State works in the

  • (a)Directorate of Economics and Statistics
  • (b)Department of Industries
  • (c)NITI Aayog
  • (d)Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
  Answer(1) — The Economic Review 2020-21 places the Centre in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Option (2) is nodal for Ease of Doing Business, option (3) is nodal for SDGs at the national level, and option (4) is where the SDG-aligned budget 2020-21 was presented.