Page 1 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 418
Sustainable Development in India: Issues, Challenges & Prospects
Dr. Fateh Bahadur Singh Yadav1
(Principal)
Ch. Charan Singh P.G. College,
Etawah, India
Krishna Kumar. Yadav2
(Assistant Professor)
Ch. Charan Singh P.G. Collage.
Etawah. India
ABSTRACT
Sustainable development is the development that fulfils the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the context of India,
the sustainable development becomes increasingly more important because India is a
developing country along with many booming industries within. As per the United Nations
report, India’s population has already crossed about 1.2 billion people and is ordinarily to grow
by another 300-320 million people within few decades. With cities generating two thirds of
countries economic output, an increasing number of Indians are leaving rural areas to seek
employment in cities. By 2030, it is predicted that sixty-eight Indian cities will have more than
one million inhabitants and six megacities with more than ten million each.
The rapid growth of cities causes a large number of challenges, including insufficient power
supply, unreliable public transport, and limited access to adequate medical treatment. To meet
the challenges of continuing growth, without destroying environment and social harmony, city
planning for sustainable development is crucial. Side by side village people, who form two
third of population but a meagre twenty percent of Indian economy to support them, throw an
equally formidable challenge on the nation for sustainable growth of the country as a whole.
Villages are to be provided with facilities like good schools, good primary health centres, good
sanitation, adequate supply of drinking water and electricity, good connectivity-both roads as
well as internet. Villagers should be provided with job opportunities to improve their living
standards.
Page 2 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 419
Agriculture on which they mostly depend must be supported with research to improve yield.
The farmers should get remunerative price for their produce. In any case the food items
produced by them sell at very high prices in the towns and cities. There is a constant demand
for wheat, rice vegetables and fruits in the cities and even in foreign lands.So why farmers
should be deprived of rightful prices? It is for the government and society at large to ensure
this. So to make the development truly sustainable, the village population and the city’s poor
population has to be provided with decent standard of living. The environment has to be
protected. The women and other weaker sections of the society have to be empowered. In other
words, the development has to be inclusive and also environmentally and socially sustainable.
Key Words- Inclusive Development, Environmental Degradation, Biomass, Globalization,
Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Heterogeneity, Women empowerment.
INTRODUCTION
1- Indian context- In Indian context, the sustainable development is described as under:
The Constitution of India: Article 21conferring the Right to Life encompasses right
to clean environment, right to livelihood, right to live with dignity and a number of other
associated rights.The Directive Principles of State Policy often referred to as the ‘conscience’
of the Constitution are intended to ensure ‘distributive justice’ and that political democracy in
India is accompanied side by side with social and economic democracy
The National Environmental Policy: “only such development is sustainable which
respects ecological constraints and the imperatives of social justice”
Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990): “If the gains in productivity are to be sustained,
resources must also continue to be available over time. This requires that, while providing for
current needs, the resources base be managed so as to enable sustainable development.”
(Volume 2, Chapter 18)
2- Definition-Sustainable development is the vision for the future. Natural calamities and
natural disasters are intricately linked with energy and environmental sustainability. The issues
of fossil fuel depletion raise the question of advancement of science and mankind. Sustainable
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European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 420
developmentis a frequently used term, but it is open to a variety of interpretations. Although
the Brundtland definition (development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs) provides a good
starting point by focusing on both needs and limitations, there has been continued controversy
over the exact meaning of the term, and this has often been exacerbated by treating the social,
economic and environmental elements either in isolation, or in an unbalanced way. In turn, this
has had a number of negative consequences. For example, there has frequently been an
overemphasis on the environmental dimension at the expense of the social dimension: carbon
is relatively easy to count in comparison with well-being.
3- Background-In 1972, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi emphasized, at
the UN Conference on Environment at Stockholm, that the removal of poverty is an integral
part of goal of an environmental strategy for the world. The concepts of interrelatedness, of a
shared planet, of global citizenship and of spaceship earth cannot be restricted to environmental
issues alone. They apply equally to shared and interlinked responsibilities of environment
protection and human development.
History has led to vast inequalities leaving almost three fourth of the world’s population living
in less developed and developing countries and one fifth below the poverty line. The long term
impact of past industrialization, exploitation and environmental damage cannot be wished
away. Taking a cue from the history of post industrial revolution, it is only right that
development in this new century is more conscious of its long term impact. The problems are
complex and choices difficult. Our common future can only be achieved with a better
understanding of our common concerns and shared responsibilities.When we talk of human
development and removing poverty from the face of the earth, it is mainly from the developing
and least developed nations. More than fifty percent of world’s poor people live in India and
China alone. So eradication of poverty is exactly our own national problems, although it has
international angle.
OBJECTIVES
1- To discuss the current issues of sustainable development in Indian perspective
2- To find out the challenges regarding practice of sustainable development in India.
