Invest India, a national investment promotion agency under the Commerce & Industry Ministry, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched the SDG (sustainable development goals) Investor Map for India with 18 Investment Opportunities Areas (IOAs) in six critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, financial services, renewable energy, and sustainable environment to help the country achieve its development goals.

According to Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India, this map has just arrived at a critical time for India. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the financing gap for the SDGs in India has widened. Turning decades of development progress on the verge of a reversal. Thus investing in the SDGs at this point is crucial to making the economy and our societies more resilient and sustainable. The SDG map contains 18 identified IOAs, out of which 10 are mature investable areas that have seen robust private equity and venture capital activity. It also features companies that have been able to unlock scale and demonstrate profitability. The remaining eight IOAs are emerging opportunities and are experiencing traction from early-stage investors. The map has also identified eight ‘white spaces’, which contain the potential to grow into IOAs in five to six years with proper policy support and private sector participation and have seen investors' interest.

According to an official release circulated by the Commerce & Industry Ministry, the SDG Investor Map lays out pathways that can bring together private-sector investment and public sector support for six SDG-enabling sectors by mapping the overlaps and gaps between public sector priorities and private sector interests.