New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Public life has a weakness for numbers that are easy to see. A company is praised for the size of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending and a government is judged by the size of its budget. Such numbers are easy to mistake for progress. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have not escaped this habit either.

India is a front-runner in many SDG initiatives globally. Its SDG India Index ranks every state and Union territory against the goals. Its Voluntary National Reviews to the United Nations are among the most comprehensive anywhere. Tagging public finance against the goals is another pathbreaking step. Odisha, Haryana, Meghalaya and West Bengal are among the states that have already begun. Tagging show...