India
Quest For India’s Sustainable Development Model

Photo flickr/studiobeeldruis
Development is much needed in a country that has the 3rd of the world’s poorest people. While development is talked about as a buzzword, the models of development do not get discussed enough. India needs a sustainable approach to development.
Ecologically sustainable development
Ecological sustainability is a must for both ethical and pragmatic reasons. We have no moral right to end billions of years of evolution in few short centuries. India is currently a land of open litter, with toxins seeping in soil at unprecedented rates. It would take several thousands of years to clear these toxins out of the ecosystem under normal cycling. Due to the need and greed of land mafia, vast swathes of agricultural land are irreversibly being transformed into construction space.
Pesticide and fertilizer use in our agricultural sector is currently uncontrolled. While carbon emissions are now being controlled but many toxic fumes continue to be released in environment. The Special Economic Zones are currently Special Eco-disaster Zones that are just simmering Bhopals, waiting to explode. There is a dire need to make industrial growth ecologically sustainable. Environmental regulation does not mean bowing down to the whims of West that would like to maintain its dominance at all costs. Regulations and their enforcement need to evolve from Indian demands, constraints and environmental vision and ethics. In addition to governmental efforts, citizen’s ownership of their country is a must. A single look at Indian cities shows a stark contrast between the insides of people’s houses and outside. In the land of litter the inside of houses are impeccably clean while outside can at times be just a dignified toilet.
There are several issues that are completely missing from the mainstream national discourse such as deforestation, one of the world’s lowest ground water tables and extreme underutilization of plentiful renewable energy resources. While the most systematic deforestation happened on the orders of Pant, who let anyone and everyone clear as much of Tarai region after the partition but this carnage has not stopped even in the present age of environment consciousness. There are several countries with much higher population densities than India that have managed to keep much higher fraction of land dedicated to forests than India. A first and immediately actionable step to manage deforestation is to ensure that subsistence agriculture is stopped and a quick transition is made to sustainable higher crop yields. A lack of information and proper resources also translates into one of the highest pest related losses (exceeding Rs 50,000 crores in worth annually), despite very high use of pesticides in several parts of the country. The losses of crops after harvesting are also one of the highest in the world. Improvements in these obvious sectors would reduce the burden on our fragile ecosystem and forests.
We need to step out of the mold of doctrinal support or opposition to any approach or live in the world of black and whites, especially on the hot-button issues of GM crops and organic farming. More evidence-based policymaking that centres on people and sustainability is immediately needed.
Social and Economic Sustainability
Capitalism is a mixed story, just as are so many other nineteenth and twentieth century constructs. The success side of the coin of capitalism has relied in part on individual entrepreneurship and innovation, just as much it has relied on the availability of fair or unfair surplus capital. Even if one has a doctrinal view of infallibility of capitalism, one must wake up to the fact that 99% of people are not able to get above daily grind, such that even brains smarter than that of Steve Jobs would be only making ends meet. The disparity in India is hindering the use of full potential of Indian population. This is compounded by the further stratification of society due to caste and community barriers.
Harnessing the true potential of India is not possible as long as we stay in the grips of crony capitalism. Crony capitalism has resulted in not just an economic strangling of the society and displacement of several people but also in grave harm to our environment and cultural heritage. In Karnataka, now even one of the best Vijayanagara ruins at Hampi have started paying the price of uncontrolled mining. It is not just the lower strata that suffers due to crony capitalism but also entrepreneurs interested in honest innovative business who are afraid of nepotism, red tape and corruption. In addition to reducing corruption, the economy also needs to move more towards end product high-tech economy. Government needs to evolve mechanisms that value equally the intellectual capital as the financial capital that is needed to transform the economy.
Steps are needed to reduce the barriers of entry in high tech sectors. This would also eliminate monopolies and evolve a more technologically advanced economy. While it is important to ensure the safety net and Indian assertion, one must not take an isolationist position in the world. One must understand just as we must not repeat mistakes of capitalism, we should also learn from mistakes of other experiments. Instead of a doctrinal approach the approach needs to be for the benefit of everyone, with the weakest section being our first concern. Instead of short-term relief mechanisms, we must establish long-term largely self-sustaining mechanisms that ensure upward mobility and safety net for masses. In past, all governments and parties have selectively used short-term populism. In this regard, no one is fundamentally different this time around too. While I have my clear favorites on corruption and communalism I can only marginally side with the vision of some independents, some left groups and AAP. They too have failed to think of optimization within large parameter space and resorted to simple formulae. I believe the goal of economic planning must not be to pull everyone down on the name of equality but to pull everyone up. One must also remember that trickle down does not work. It is the largest marketing gimmick ever devised, even bigger than Namo. Pulling up of large sections of society cannot be exclusivist, castist and nepotistic. In India there is another social construct of caste that reduces social mobility. Unfortunately a change in that will take public awareness and not just political changes. It remains to be seen if anyone would be up to this biggest task of catalyzing such a change now or even few years down the lane.
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