This paper argues that India’s efforts to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable development have been hampered in the past by pervasive inefficiencies that arise from market, policy and institutional failures and weaknesses. Efforts to address these weaknesses in a comprehensive manner can significantly increase the pace of improvement in the well-being of the population while also better tackling environmental and climate risks.
This paper argues that India’s efforts to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable development have been hampered in the past by pervasive inefficiencies that arise from market, policy and institutional failures and weaknesses. Efforts to address these weaknesses in a comprehensive manner can significantly increase the pace of improvement in the well-being of the population while also better tackling environmental and climate risks. Drawing on the framework developed in the New Climate Economy report Better Growth, Better Climate, we focus on three critical socio-economic systems where increased efficiency, investment and innovation can yield major development and environmental benefits: energy systems, agriculture and land use, and cities.
Eleven recommendations are offered to significantly increase the pace of improvement in the well-being of the population of India while also better tackling environmental and climate risks. The political economy of such reforms is often difficult but experience from both India and other countries provides considerable hope that meaningful progress is possible.
Seizing the Global Opportunity
