Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das has said that the State government is making a concerted effort to reduce poverty and remove the socio-economic disparities by prioritising the development of education, health and agriculture and allied sectors.
Besides, it has brought in administrative reforms such as establishment of village and ward secretariats with the aim to take welfare schemes to the people’s doorstep.
“A host of such measures will take Andhra Pradesh closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Mr. Das asserted while participating as chief guest in a workshop on ‘SDG India Index and Multidimensional Poverty Index’ organised by the NITI Aayog at the Secretariat on Thursday.
Food security
Mr. Das said food security was another thing to which the government attached due priority, and it was implementing Navaratnalu to improve the living standards of the weaker sections.
“Efforts are being made to achieve better ranking in the SDGs, and it is a continuous process,” he observed.
NITI Aayog Adviser (SDGs) Sanyukta Samaddar said Andhra Pradesh’s efforts in achieving 17 SDGs were commendable, and it could still do its best to further improve its standing among the 22 States in the country.
She then spoke about the manner in which the goals were to be accomplished as per the guidelines laid down by the Government of India and closely monitored by the NITI Aayog.
Secretary (planning) G.S.R.K.R. Vijay Kumar, Special Chief Secretary (higher education) Satish Chandra, and Principal Secretaries M.T. Krishna Babu (transport, roads and buildings), B. Rajasekhar (school education), A.R. Anuradha (women and child development) and Kantilal Dande (tribal welfare) were among those present.
