UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu has praised India as a global model for harmonising rapid economic growth with social inclusion, asserting that the country’s innovative policies and digital infrastructure provide replicable lessons for equitable development worldwide. In an exclusive PTI interview during his three-day visit to India on November 16, 2025, Xu highlighted how initiatives like the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have enabled direct, transparent benefit transfers to hundreds of millions, drastically reducing leakage and ensuring no one is left behind. He described UPI as “as simple as sending a text message”, underscoring its role in democratising financial access and preventing monopolies through open public digital infrastructure.

Xu lauded flagship programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Ayushman Bharat for blending livelihood security with robust social protection, while the Aspirational Districts Programme exemplifies data-driven governance to bridge regional disparities. He also commended India’s climate-conscious growth trajectory, citing investments in renewable energy, green jobs, and community-based conservation as aligning economic opportunity with environmental stewardship and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Platforms like CoWIN, which managed over two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, and the UNDP-supported U-WIN for universal immunisation tracking, demonstrate India’s ability to solve practical challenges at scale, offering blueprints for other nations through South-South cooperation.

Amid a global human development slowdown—the UNDP’s latest Human Development Index shows progress at a 35-year low and near-stagnant for two years—Xu positioned India as a leading voice of the Global South, sharing not just technology but the participatory governance frameworks that make it effective. He called for the next phase of India’s growth to prioritise quality jobs, gender equality, and climate resilience, reinforcing that “India’s story is not only about growth but about using technology, evidence, and participatory governance to ensure development objectives are achieved.” As a UNDP partner, India is scaling these models globally to foster a more equitable and sustainable world.

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On the climate front, Xu warned that developing countries need $2.4 trillion annually by 2030 for climate action, far exceeding current commitments under the Baku to Belem Roadmap aiming for $1.3 trillion by 2025. He criticised slow, complex financing mechanisms and urged simpler, multi-year systems with clear rules, emphasising that every dollar in adaptation yields up to ten dollars in returns.

With COP30 underway in Brazil, Xu stressed that finance, cooperation, and accelerated implementation of national climate pledges are critical, with UNDP supporting 86 countries through integrated financing frameworks to channel billions into SDGs, including climate resilience. India’s balanced approach, he concluded, offers a vital pathway forward.

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