NITI Aayog Organizes National Workshop on SDG Budgeting
NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal and with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), organized a National Workshop on SDG Budgeting in Kolkata on 29 September 2026 under the State Support Mission (SSM) initiative. The workshop focused on strengthening the alignment of planning and budgeting processes with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with specific emphasis on institutionalizing SDG budget tagging and translating financial commitments into measurable development outcomes at the sub-national level.
Participation and Representation
The workshop brought together participants from 32 States and Union Territories, along with senior officials from multiple government institutions including NITI Aayog, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and its offices, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). International organizations represented included UNDP, UN Resident Coordinator Office (UNRCO), and development partners including GIZ. Private sector representation came from FICCI, CII, SEBI, Tata Steel Foundation, and Intellecap. Government representatives from Haryana, Odisha, Meghalaya, and West Bengal shared their experiences on implementing and institutionalizing SDG Budgeting.
Key Addresses and Statements
Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, Hon'ble Finance Minister of West Bengal, delivered the Chief Guest Address, emphasizing that SDG budget tagging creates "a clean line running from a goal, to a target, to an allocation in the budget, to a unit that will actually spend" and without this discipline, "the SDGs remain an aspiration on the asset side of the ledger with no corresponding entry on the liability side."
Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Hon'ble Member of NITI Aayog, stated in his keynote address that "Mapping the SDGs to State expenditure is a significant step" and that the task ahead is "to guide every State so that money spent can be shown to be money spent wisely."
Shri Prabhat Kumar Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Government of West Bengal, highlighted that the state has for the first time mapped its budget to the goal level of the SDGs and integrated this exercise into its Integrated Financial Management System.
Technical Framework and Implementation Guidance
The workshop featured discussions on the "Guide on Mapping State Budgets to the SDGs," developed jointly by NITI Aayog, the CAG of India, and UNDP, which serves as a practical framework for aligning State budgets with the Goals. The workshop comprised four technical sessions covering design elements of SDG budget tagging, including identification of expenditure to be tagged, appropriate level of tagging, linkage with the Head of Accounts, tagging to SDG Targets, attribution through NITI Aayog's Scheme-SDG mapping, and value assignment.
A session on "Making It Happen: SDG Budgeting in the Annual Budget Cycle," led by Shri Navneet Gupta, Principal Accountant General (A&E), examined the integration of SDG budget tagging into budget preparation, institutional responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms including reconciliation, quality assurance, reporting, and performance audit, including the role of the CAG.
Private Sector Engagement and Enabling Frameworks
Shri Stefan Priesner highlighted India's enabling framework for private sector engagement, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting, ESG in capital markets, and the Social Stock Exchange. He emphasized the need to integrate sustainability into core business decision-making. Dr. Angela Lusigi highlighted the value of SDG budget tagging in linking expenditure with specific SDG targets and assessing whether resources are reaching those who need them most, while also aligning CSR, investment, and philanthropy with development priorities. She noted the joint standards launched by ISO and UNDP to support public and private organizations in placing the SDGs at the core of decision-making.
A dedicated session on private sector engagement examined enabling policy frameworks, innovative financing, and responsible business conduct to strengthen sustained private sector engagement with the SDGs, with participation from Tata Steel Foundation, Intellecap, IICA, MoSPI, FICCI, GIZ, ITC Limited, CII, and SEBI.
Outcomes and Forward Vision
The deliberations underscored the importance of embedding SDG priorities within the annual budget cycle and establishing the institutional arrangements required to move from measurement to mission-mode implementation. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat@2047, with 2030 as a critical milestone for the SDGs, the workshop reaffirmed NITI Aayog's commitment to strengthening cooperative federalism and supporting States and Union Territories in embedding the SDGs within their planning, budgeting, and governance processes. The workshop emphasized strengthening the linkage between public expenditure, development priorities, and measurable outcomes, and accelerating the transition from measurement to implementation.