A new report from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) captures India's achievements and challenges in respect to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to the report, while India has made remarkable progress in several sectors, achieving all the MDGs appears unlikely. On the challenge of reducing poverty by half, with 21.9 per cent of the population below the poverty line in 2011, India has already achieved the target well ahead of time. The country has also successfully eliminated gender disparity in primary and secondary education. Further, it has successfully managed to control the spread of deadly diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. But on other indicators, India is likely to miss the target. The country is unlikely to meet the target of reducing the proportion of underweight children by half. Further, it is unlikely to reduce under-five mortality by two thirds and maternal mortality by 75 per cent
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