India's Need for a Sustainability Strategy: Creating a Stable and Balanced Development

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Selected structural characteristics of India in the context of sustainable development. 3. Requirements and theoretical basis for a national sustainability strategy. 4. Requirements for the sustainability strategy in India. 5. Requirement of action for a national sustainability strategy in India. 6. Perspectives and challenges in the implementation of a national sustainability strategy in India. A national sustainability strategy offers a great opportunity for a country’s stable development. It requires a balanced relationship amongst the three crucial dimensions of Ecology, Economics and Society. The primacy of economics is foremost as it still is dominant worldwide today. Countries such as India have so far confined themselves to a few selective programmes or projects that are intended to contribute towards sustainable development on a national level. However, till date there has been no consistent sustainability strategy whereby programmes and projects are brought together in a methodically sound manner to relate to sustainability. Based upon 30 years of research work on India (20 years in the field of sustainable development), the author highlights the relevant lines of argument and information. He finally draws up and elaborates the various sustainability strategies, their relevance and the opportunities thereof.…