Sustainable Development Governance in India: A Bibliometric and Policy Analysis of Institutional Mechanisms, Policy Coherence, and Localised Implementation of SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) are essential for ensuring inclusive and sustainable development in social, economic, and environmental terms. In India, achieving these global objectives through effective action requires robust institutional mechanisms, well-defined policies, and effective implementation strategies at the grassroots level. This study assesses governance for sustainable development in India across three key dimensions: institutional framework, policy integration, and devolution of implementation. The study employs a quantitative and qualitative approach, combining policy analysis with a bibliometric analysis of publications from the Dimensions databases over a twenty-year period. Bibliometric analysis uses citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence, and authorship patterns to identify dominant research themes, leading institutions, and gaps in the literature. It also examines the alignment between sustainable development policy discourse and governance changes within India. In addition, the research examines policy efforts at the national and sub-national levels, with a special emphasis on NITI Aayog’s role and state-level coordination mechanisms in achieving the SDGs. The study highlights the need for decentralised planning, participatory governance, and inter-sectoral coordination to realise the Agenda 2030 goals. The need for improved integration at the institutional level, along with mechanisms that can cope with dynamic requirements, is profoundly highlighted by previous related research work. A better connection between academic inquiry and the implementation of policies can also provide significant help in enhancing the practice of sustainable development governance. This work contributes to the empirical and conceptual research in the area of sustainability governance, providing strategic guidance to stakeholders, including policymakers and potential researchers interested in the field of sustainability.