New Delhi, July 29 - India is unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015, the deadline it had promised, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Wednesday.

'It's a matter of great distress that we won't reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015,' Ramesh said at a conference of the Parliamentarians' Group on the Millenium Development Goals (PG-MDGs).

Citing various challenges, especially in the field of health, he said the eight goals to eliminate poverty and social injustice will be difficult to meet by the set deadline.

In 2000, 189 heads of states met at the United Nations Millennium Summit and signed the Millennium Declaration.

As per this declaration, the eight goals - eradication of hunger and poverty, achieving universal education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environment sustainability and developing a global partnership for development will be met by the signatories by 2015.

While the civil society has been crying hoarse that India will find it difficult to meet the goals within the deadline, the government had so far refused to admit so.