NEWS  A new architecture of economic growth, which begins from the ground, is required to create better lives for the majority.

INDIA’S POSITIONING IN GLOBAL INDICES

• The latest Global Hunger Index has placed India at 94 position amongst 107 countries.
• Further Indian citizens are reported amongst the least happy in the world according to the World Happiness Report released in March 2021 by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. India has been ranked as low as 144th out of 153 countries. The report  compares citizens’ own perceptions of their well-being.
• According to global assessments, India ranks 120 out of 122 countries in water quality, and 179 out of 180 in air quality.

LAPSING TO OLD WAYS

• New ways must be adopted to create a new post-pandemic normal but sadly, the old ways are returning. The government is back to chasing its $5 trillion GDP target. Wealth creators are being touted as the solution for growth. Power is being centralised.

 INEQUALITIES HAVE WIDENED

• The pandemic has revealed structural flaws in countries’ economies.
• According to a report released by the World Bank, while India’s stock markets rose during the pandemic and the very rich became even richer, the number of people who are poor in India (with incomes of $2 or less a day) is estimated to have increased by 75 million.
• According to the report , this accounts for nearly 60% of the global increase in poverty.
• The pandemic has revealed that the old economy was not good for migrant workers, instead their “ease of living” was often sacrificed for capital’s “ease of doing business”.

 NEED FOR NEW FRAMEWORKS

• India urgently needs a new strategy for growth, founded on new pillars.
• Broader progress measures are required. GDP does not account for vital environmental and social conditions that contribute to human well-being and the sustainability of the planet. These factors are ignored as externalities by economists.

 WAY FORWARD

• A new architecture of economic growth is required to create better lives for the majority in India.
• The Indian economy must grow to create more incomes for its billion-plus citizens.
• Until the incomes of all rise, India will be a poor country from the perspective of the majority of its citizens, no matter how large its GDP.
• Moreover, economic growth must no longer be at the cost of the environment.
• Standard global solutions will neither make their conditions better nor make them happier.
• The universal solution for improving well-being is for local communities to work together to find their own solutions within their countries, and in their villages and towns.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/india-does-not-shine-when-only-some-gleam/article34201057.ece