The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a Comprehensive SDG Alignment Framework, marking a major step forward for India’s sustainable development goal. Under the Viksit Bharat vision, the framework seeks to incorporate indicators related to national, state, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and more.

Signed on October 31, 2025, the agreement is a significant step towards strengthening India’s sustainability reporting environment, encouraging evidence-based decision-making, and bridging the gap between private sector contributions and public policy objectives. Through the alignment of CSR and ESG programmes with India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national and state levels, the partnership aims to improve synergy between government agencies, corporations, and civil society.

The project will be based on the National Indicator Framework (NIF), which is the main tool for tracking India’s progress towards the SDGs. To maintain consistency across governance, business, and policy frameworks, the collaborative effort will incorporate corporate sustainability reporting guidelines and State Indicator Frameworks (SIFs) using NIF’s structure.

It will be simpler to monitor how corporate sustainability programmes directly impact India’s progress towards the SDGs thanks to this unified framework, particularly in areas like economic growth, gender equality, education, renewable energy, and climate action. Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, IICA’s Director General and CEO, spearheaded the partnership and has played a key role in furthering the organisation’s strategic initiatives on ESG, CSR, and Responsible Business Conduct.

Key officials attended the signing ceremony, including Dr Ziaul Haque, Director, Social Statistics Division, MoSPI; Ms Ruchika Gupta, Deputy Director General, Social Statistics Division, MoSPI; Shivnath Singh Jadawat, Director, Training Unit, MoSPI; Dr Garima Dadhich, Associate Professor & Head, School of Business Environment, IICA; and Kishor Baburao Surwade, Additional Director General, Capacity Development Division, MoSPI.

Singh, who spoke at the occasion, underlined that combining business sustainability with India’s SDG roadmap would increase data consistency across industries and have a quantifiable impact. “This initiative will strengthen India’s ability to convert sustainability pledges into measurable, actionable results,” he said. India’s evidence-based development approach will be supported by the MoSPI–IICA framework, which links national development goals with CSR investments and ESG performance criteria. Additionally, it will ensure that company sustainability initiatives are in line with regional development aspirations by fostering policy consistency between the Union and State Governments.

Additionally, the framework will offer a guide for assessing business contributions to SDG targets, enabling policymakers to direct resources and efforts towards the areas that need the greatest attention.

Long-term, it is anticipated that this integrated approach will boost India’s global standing in ESG performance indexes, raise its sustainability rankings, and promote more resilient and equitable economic paths.