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Haoliang Xu, Acting Administrator of UNDP, said India’s development story is not only about economic progress but also about the use of technology and participatory governance to ensure that development objectives are achieved and no one is left behind.
In an interview to PTI, Xu said India’s commitment to climate adaptation, renewable energy and inclusive digital finance offers a blueprint for balancing growth with sustainability.
He said India is shaping “development pathways” that are economically sound as well as climate responsible.
The UN Under-Secretary-General and Acting Administrator of UNDP were in India on a three-day visit to strengthen and identify new areas of cooperation, including in the areas of digital transformation and climate action.
Talking about the serious global challenges, Xu said that UNDP’s latest Human Development Index shows that global progress in human development has fallen to a 35-year low and has remained almost stagnant for the past two years.
He also praised India’s development model to deal with various challenges including climate change and poverty.
“The country’s commitment to a just transition, climate adaptation, renewable energy and inclusive digital finance offers a blueprint for balancing growth with sustainability,” he said.
“We can work together to more closely align development objectives, development financing from all sources, and effective, accountable and inclusive institutional capacity,” Xu said in an e-mail interview.
The UNDP chief said India has shown that rapid growth can be matched by deliberate investment in people, especially those who have been historically left behind.
He said, “As a leading voice of the Global South, India is helping to translate local success stories into global lessons through South-South cooperation, sharing not only its tools and technology, but also the frameworks that make them work.”
Xu specifically mentioned India’s flagship programs such as MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and Ayushman Bharat, saying they have linked livelihood security with social security.
He said India’s digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion platforms including “Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile (JAM) trinity and UPI (Unified Payments Interface)” have enabled transparent, direct access to benefits to millions of people, setting an example that many countries are now studying.
JAM is an initiative that links an individual’s bank account (Jan Dhan), biometric identity (Aadhaar) and mobile number to enable direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the government.
Initiatives like the Aspirational Districts Program show how data, evidence and community partnerships can reduce regional differences and make development more equitable, Xu said.
The acting UNDP Administrator said India’s focus on “green jobs and climate-resilient livelihoods” – from renewable energy to community-based conservation – aligns economic opportunity with environmental stewardship and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The next phase of development can further expand quality jobs, gender equality and climate resilience to ensure growth is inclusive and sustainable,” he said.
“India’s story is not just about development, it is also about using technology, evidence and participatory governance to ensure that development objectives are achieved and no one is left behind,” he said.
He said, “These lessons are shaping a more equitable and sustainable world. Through South-South cooperation, UNDP is pleased to partner with India to share these with other developing countries globally.”
Xu also praised India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network), saying they are successful because they were created to solve practical, everyday problems.
He said, “UPI has made digital payments as easy as sending a text message. CoWIN tracked the administration of over two billion vaccine doses in record time during the COVID-19 pandemic and gave each individual a verifiable vaccination record.”
The top UNDP official said India’s platforms are unique because they run on open, public digital infrastructure.
“This design encourages competition, reduces transaction costs and prevents monopolies.”
He said, “India’s latest digital health innovation, U-WIN (Universal Immunization WIN) is a state-of-the-art digital platform designed to electronically register and monitor the vaccination status of all expectant mothers and children across India.”
“This people-centric platform – developed with technical support from UNDP – tracks and improves vaccine coverage across the country,” he said.
Xu also called for concerted global efforts to tackle climate change.
He said, “Today, developing countries need approximately $2.4 trillion per year for climate action by 2030. Current multilateral finance commitments are reflected in the Baku to Belém Roadmap, which calls on all actors to work together to scale up finance to $1.3 trillion per year by 2025.”
“Yet access to climate finance is still too slow and complex. The climate crisis is here and now, and developing countries need urgent support to achieve their goals at scale,” he said.