India can lead the way in sustainable development

For India, 2022 is a historic year. It was 75 years ago that the nation attained independence and demonstrated to the world how democracy and diversity could come together. Of course, it has not been a smooth journey, with a large part of the population still battling social issues -- hunger, malnutrition, lack of basic amenities, and above all, an uncertain future. Yet, India has come a long way. Problems exist, but the pathway to addressing them and becoming a ‘developed’ country is very clear now, more than ever.

Let us step back a bit. Globally, the 20th and 21st centuries have seen unprecedented advancements in terms of technology, transportation and communication. However, there exists another stark reality: Millions across the world, mostly in the global South, barely have access to fundamental services such as health, education, clean water, housing and livelihoods.

Unsustainable consumption patterns in the West, in pursuit of growth and unfettered focus on wealth accumulation, have escalated the climate crisis to unprecedented levels for India and other developing countries. Silent disasters like the droughts in central India, immense heat stress in most parts of the country, cyclones in the eastern part, and large-scale floods in the northeastern states are causing generational poverty besides exerting immense pressure on India’s developmental resources -- it is like turning the clock back every few years.

Inequality and climate issues are becoming powerful barriers for economically disadvantaged communities to take any sort of concrete steps to move forward. Unfortunately, there are very few programmes in the world that are designed from the point of view of beneficiaries/ Poorly designed programmes, and short-term projects designed without the involvement of indigenous intellectual expertise have formed the status quo in the development world. This also gives India an opportunity to take the lead.

Today, India has a chance to be a country that can show the world what inclusivity and sustainability can do. It has a chance to stay away from the high-energy pathway of the West which, in many ways, is the primary cause and driver of the global climate crisis. It need not follow the present ways of capitalism that have led to a gaping divide between the rich and poor. By the time it turns 100 in 2047, India could become the one-stop knowledge hub of sustainability for the world.

India, through its investments in higher education, has created multiple pockets of high-quality innovation as well as training facilities. While the utilisation of such physical and human resources has not been optimum, the investment still stands. India should take advantage of having the right reserves to create appropriate and pragmatic solutions for the diverse set of concerns cutting across sectors and geographies.

Realising the urgency of ensuring parity, all stakeholders led by the UN set multiple targets by creating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Nations came together and promised to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. They also pledged to reduce emissions by 30% in the same time frame.

Currently, we do not fare so well in many of the human development indices (HDI) and are lagging behind in the 2030 UN SDGs. It must be noted that these figures warrant further study, since the diversity of India, in terms of culture, geography and climatic conditions, calls for customised programmes to enhance the HDI and SDG indicators.

In its endeavour to benefit the masses, India has faultered in designing and implementing its social programmes. For example, inefficient water utilisation in agriculture has lowered water tables across the country causing hardships to many.

Solutions to poverty are complex and are contextual to geographies, topographies, geopolitics and in recent decades, climate. Poverty is not a homogenous, financially defined bracket. Lack of access to essential services like health and education, denies good quality of life to people. It constantly puts pressure on existing resources and assets. With its rich intellectual resources, India could lead the development of contextual and sustainable solutions to poverty, even before it enters its centenary year.

(The writer is a Magsaysay awardee and founder of SELCO)