Sustainable Development In India – What Is Being Done? Sustainable Development by Icsusdev Team - June 27, 2018June 8, 20190 Successful Sustainable Development Practices in India India is one of the biggest countries in the world. It is booming at an alarming rate. This growth not just demands but necessitates the development of more sustainable practices. At present, the population of India is about 1.2 billion. In the next ten or twenty years, this will increase by a whopping number of 300 million. By the time 2030 comes around almost seventy cities in the nation will be hosting a population of over 1 million. The six metropolises will have nearly 10 million inhabitants. This means people from rural India would be migrating to the cities to seek employment because it is the cities that create more than sixty percent of the economic output. This exodus of people from rural areas to urban cities, to have access to a better lifestyle, would need a highly efficient metropolitan infrastructure. This swelling of cities, both in terms of economy and population, will eventually cause issues like: • insufficient power supply • limited access to medical treatment • unreliable public transportation systems This is why incorporating sustainable practices is vital for the country. The most accepted definition of sustainable development is: “development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” To know more about what is sustainable development, read here http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/what-is-sustainable-development.html. In this particular article, we will be focusing on the steps the Indian Government has taken to push these practices into action. Impact of Monitoring and Coaching in IAS Coaching Centres While it is essential for the governing body of any nation to think and work towards building a better environment, it is the younger generation that matters more. The Top 10 IAS coaching centres say that only when we teach children and young adults from an early stage the importance of building a better tomorrow can the world survive. To put their hand where their mouth is, engineering coaching institutes have started offering NEET online classes. These classes save a lot of power and resources that eventually make the world greener. Think, as a company or firm how much change can you create? When it comes to the Indian Parliament, one of the biggest steps they have taken is the organisation of numerous forums like the South Asian Speakers’ Summit that was held early last year. These forums are incredible platforms that talk about some of the major issues: • resource mobilization for SDGs • elimination of poverty • gender equality • Climate change How India Can Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals To make the Members of Parliament cognizant of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) a Speaker’s Research Initiative was also started. These are efforts that help in making people more aware of the need for sustainability. To actually implement the agendas of SDG the Indian Government launched a number of programmes. Some of them are detailed here. 1. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). It is considered to be the world’s largest financial inclusion programme. With the amalgamation of PMJDY, Aadhaar (biometric identity system) and mobile telephony, a total of over one trillion rupees have been distributed to more than 300 million people. All this was done via direct benefit transfers. The entire effort was created to increase the efficiency of programmes launched by the Government. 2. Another effort by the government is the Nationally Determined Contributions or NDC. The programme is meant to reduce emissions by making use of non-fossil fuels as sources of energy and building a carbon sink. The NDC, which is deemed to be a major chunk of the SDG strategy of the nation, was presented to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change through the Conference of Parties. 3. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or the Clean India Movement is another crucial initiative by the administrative authorities of the country. All these crosscutting programmes and any other effort that works towards the implementation of SDG is the responsibility of NITI Aayog. The National Institution for Transforming India is a think tank incorporated by the Government. The chairperson of the institute is the PM of the nation. The goal of the organisation is to map out targets and visions of all nodal ministries along with their flagship programmes. Though it is the responsibility of NITI Aayog to implement the SDGs, even state governments are chipping in. They have created roadmaps that tell the route to the achievement of these SDGs. Most of these plans have already been published. To track the development of the SDGs, draft indicators have been created. These are under the public domain and can be accessed viathe Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. These are just some of the steps that have been taken by the executive authorities of India. Many more are being done and many more needed. To ensure that India grows and develops at a pace equal, if not faster, to the rest of the world, it is fundamental to plan smart cities. Only with efficient infrastructure and planned use of resources will we be able to meet the demands of a growing population. Key Factors For the Sustainable Development • Access to healthcare • Clean drinking water • a reliable power supply • public transportation Most of the aspects can only be put into effect by the government. But there is a part that every citizen of India can play. Even a small action, when taken by many at the same time, can lead to a massive and real change. The government can take the lead, but experts can help by advising and scrutinising. Others can pitch in a more organisational capacity. Agricultural firms can work towards a sustainable food supply chain that ensures there is enough nourishment for future that is long term. A private citizen can work towards saving water and energy at home. Sustainable development impacts everyone, and it helps each person. When we work now to save the limited resources of the world, only then will the next generation have access to them. A tip is to take part in any steps your state or local government is taking.
