The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, these goals are an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This module provides a deep dive into each of the 17 SDGs, crucial for understanding international development principles and excelling in competitive examinations.

This goal aims to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. It also seeks to reduce by at least half the proportion of men, women, children, and vulnerable people living in poverty in all its dimensions, according to national definitions.

This goal seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. It emphasizes ending all forms of malnutrition and ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for all people, especially the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants.

This goal aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It covers a broad range of health issues, including reducing maternal and child mortality, combating communicable and non-communicable diseases, and ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services.

This goal ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. It aims to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education, leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

This goal aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It includes ending all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, recognizing and valuing unpaid care and domestic work, and ensuring women's full and effective participation in leadership and decision-making.

This goal ensures availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. It focuses on achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, as well as access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, and ending open defecation.

This goal aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. It includes increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix and improving energy efficiency.

This goal promotes sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. It emphasizes protecting labor rights and promoting safe and secure working environments for all workers.

This goal aims to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. It calls for developing quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being.

This goal seeks to reduce inequality within and among countries. It focuses on promoting social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.

This goal aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. It includes providing access to safe and affordable housing, upgrading informal settlements, and ensuring access to green and public spaces.

This goal ensures sustainable consumption and production patterns. It calls for implementing the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with all countries taking action, taking into account the developed countries' contribution and capabilities.

This goal calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. It emphasizes strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

This goal aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. It includes preventing and reducing marine pollution of all kinds, and sustainably managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems.

This goal aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. It emphasizes ensuring the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems.

This goal promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provides access to justice for all, and builds effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. It aims to reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

This goal aims to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. It emphasizes mobilizing financial resources, technology, capacity-building, trade, and systemic issues to support the achievement of the SDGs.

When preparing for competitive examinations, focus on:

• The core objective of each SDG.
• Key targets and indicators associated with each goal.
• Examples of initiatives and policies that contribute to achieving the SDGs.
• The interconnectedness of the SDGs and how they form a holistic framework for global development.
• The role of different actors (governments, civil society, private sector) in achieving the SDGs.