Will India achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline? It certainly does not look so, says a report of an UN study, With only five years left for the target year, the report says that the South Asia is not expected to eradicate poverty in half by 2015. According to Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, India is expected to reduce its poverty rate from 51 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2015 adding that "other South Asian countries have not made sufficient efforts to cut poverty in half by 2015."

The prevalence of hunger actually increased between 2000-2002 and 2005-2007 from 20 to 21 percent, the report adds. When it comes to nutrition, South Asia fares badly. The region is home to 46 percent of the world's undernourished children - the highest in the world, said the report. It has marginally fallen by six percent from the 51 percent recorded in 1990.

India and Pakistan are the worst on nutrition indicator in the region, said professor Jayati Ghosh of Jawaharlal Nehru University, one of the panelists who released the report. 

The region, in fact, had uniformly low scores on the eight point indicators considered for the report.

There is a different picture on the issue of child mortality, indicates the report. “The number of child deaths per 1,000 live births dropped from 121 in 1990 to 74 in 2008.” However, there is sign of improvement in this aspect but India is way behind the target, said professor Ghosh. 

South Asia is also next to sub-Saharan Africa in vulnerable employment with 77 percent of people employed as either own-account or unpaid family workers, said the UN report. Women continue to work in the vulnerable sector. There is clear disparity on job front for women, the report adds. “Only 9 percent of managerial positions are held by women – the lowest percentage among all regions.”

However, the report has praised progress made on primary education sector. “The South Asian region reached 90 percent enrolment in 2008, up from 79 percent in 1999 and likely to meet target of universal primary education by 2015,” said the report. Ghosh added the Right to Education (RTE) if properly implemented will make difference in this area.

South Asia is a laggard in meeting maternal health and sanitation conditions as per the report. Giving birth is risky in southern Asia where less than half the women deliver without skilled care. The open defecation is an affront to human dignity, said the report. Again here South Asia tops the chart with highest rate of open defecation in the world, the report noted.

"I do hope government give seriousness to this report," said Brinda Karat, CPM leader and MP who was present during the release of the Millennium report. Criticising the UPA government, Karat said, it is high on rhetoric and low on implementation. “Unless there is reversal of current policies, India would not be able to make the target of MDGs,” she added.

India is not on the track of achieving its goal, said Karin Hulsof, representative of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, she still feels that most of the targets can be achieved by participatory development programmes.

The status of the MDGs will be on the agenda in the upcoming G20 summit held in Canada.

In September 2010, the United Nations is holding a plenary session of the General Assembly to discuss the world’s progress on the Millennium Development Goals.