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Integrated Human Development An alternative Indian model of Sustainable Development. A preliminary draft for discussion. Overview. Introduction Current Crisis Some existing relevant measures Roots of the crisis Exploring options Economic achievements over millennia Indian worldview
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Integrated Human DevelopmentAn alternative Indian model of Sustainable Development • A preliminary draft for discussion
Overview • Introduction • Current Crisis • Some existing relevant measures • Roots of the crisis • Exploring options • Economic achievements over millennia • Indian worldview • Indian concept of development • Parameters of Development • Task Ahead
Introduction • Today’s socio – political debate revolves around development agenda • Economic growth forms the core of development action • Globally, there is a rat race to increase economic growth • Economic growth has resulted in huge crisis leading to • Depletion of natural resources • Increase catastrophes and threat to food and agriculture • Alarming impacts on society • Assault on cultural diversity • Paradoxically growth based development has been detrimental to very existence and survival of life on earth in total • Hence an urgent need to establishing a holistic and integrated approach to development • Ancient Indian society was known to have such model
Environmental disaster • Excess fossil fuel consumption – expected scarcity by 2050 • Natural gas and Coal will be severely scarce commodity by 2080 and 2100 • 25% increase in pandemic and epidemic communicable disease in 10 years • Sea level rise due to polar ice melt would submerge more than 50 islands globally 2050 accounting more than 3.5 million refugees in India and Bangladesh • Ganga glacier melt – by 2050 would impact more than 4 million people in gangetic delta • 38% of land area is used for agriculture, and sea level rise by 2050 would reduce minimum of 5% of land surface • Every year 13 million hectares of forest lost globally, adding to climate change and global warming • Nearly 17,000 species biodiversity threatened on which more than 1.5 billions of people are directly dependent for their livelihoods
Crisis : Food and agriculture • Globally 1 billion people are under nourished • 40% reduction in global soil productivity - expected chronic food scarcity by 2050 • Depletion in genetic diversity – ex, In India 42000 rice varieties were grown before green revolution – today fewer than 500 variety grown • Almost 80% of global fish stock is over exploited by 2009 • 40% of the earth will face physical scarcity of fresh water by 2025 • 70% freshwater is used for agricultural production in 2007 and More than 30% of fresh water decline is expected by 2025 • Global warming is predicted to reduce 30% wheat and 15% irrigated rice production by 2050 in developing countries • Global grain reserve declining steeply since 2000 – lowest in 2009 • Constant increase in landless rural livelihood - accounts 22% in India in 2008
Impact on Society • The rich - poor divide has increased from 3:1 in 1820 to 72:1 in 2006 with One third of the world lives below the poverty line • 1.6 billion people live with vulnerable employment and the poorest 50% of the world’s adult population receives 1% of global wealth • Around 9 million children die under the age of 5 due to lack of Medicare, 100 million children globally are homeless and sleep on streets • 2.6 billion people globally lack access to sanitation • Globally, 75 million children (55 % girls) with no schooling - 776 million adults (16 % of adult population) lacked basic literacy skills —two-thirds of whom were women • In India – divorce doubled in past 10 years with 3.6% increase in crime rate • In India increase in crime against women by 17% and crime against Children by 10.2% • Increased urbanization – More than half the globe in cities by 2050 - 33% of urban population – slum dwellers today • In India - Cyber fraud increased by 44.9% in one decade of which people under age group 18-30 accounted for 61.2% of the offence
Impact on Culture • More than 350 million indigenous community, accounting 6% of global population spread over 72 countries facing threat of extinctions. • Of around 8000 language spoken globally, over 11.5% (600) of the language has less than 150 speakers and 95.2% of languages are listed threatened globally • Dominance of English as single communicative language is threat to multilingualism, identity and by 2050 half the world will have single lingua franca • Culture Industry – accounts 3.4% of global GDP – economic promotion of culture • Annual steady 4% increase in ethnic violence - displacing of over 20 million people • 3 billion people use disappearing traditional medicine as primary health care • Homogenization of food consumption – 2 decades there has been 94.5% shift towards rice and wheat – reduction in crop and food diversity
Important measures of development • GDP is the principal measureof growth for more than half a century and still continues to be the dominant indicator • Only few indicators are known to address issues of happiness, well being and sustainability • More than 20 indicators have been used to measure progress • Sense of incompleteness is prevalent in all the available measures • Some of the most important ones are • Human Development Index (HDI) • Ecological Footprint (EF) • The Happy Planet Index (HPI) • Gross National Happiness (GNH)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) • Considered as measure of progress and economic growth • The value of output of goods and services produced during one year • Can be viewed as being national income, national output or aggregate demand (AD) • GDP per capita – GDP divided by the population (GDP per head) • It is only an aggregate monitory measure • A large set of services are not accounted • Cannot measure welfare objectives • Cannot measure natural stock and ecosystem services • No opportunity to incorporate culture
Human Development Index (HDI) • HDI – A socio-economic measure (1990 – World Bank) • Revised measure in 2010 • Earlier HDIs measured Longevity , Knowledge and Income poverty • Focus on multiple dimensions of human welfare: • Health and Education • Well being and happiness, Multidimensional poverty • Environmental vulnerability, Living standards • ICT, Economy • Infrastructure • Employment etc.. • Non income HDI • Robust theory and methodology
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) • HPI challenges other well-established indices such as (GDP) and (HDI). (Europe – Global measure – 2006) • Built on principles of • Ecological Sustainability • Social Justice • People’s Well-being • It connects Human system (culture, education, governance, economy, social capital and health) with Ecosystem (natural capital, water quality, biodiversity, co2 emission, air quality and soil erosion) by controlling resource demands • Consider ecosystem and human well being as two compelling parts of development • Measured as a ratio of happy long life(life satisfaction X life expectancy) divided by resource use (ecological foot print)
Ecological Footprint(EF) • EF compares human consumption of natural resources with Earth’s ecological capacity (biocapacity) to regenerate them. Also called living planet index (LPI) (WWF – Global Measure – 2006) • EF measures the amount of ecologically productive land used by individuals, cities, countries, etc. • EF believes that production and use of goods and services involve land use: have ecological footprints • Measures foot prints of consumption • Measures inequality in terms of ecosystem functions • The recent measures concluded following key elements • There is not enough earth to support our current consumption patterns • Thus all poor countries cannot follow the miracle of developed countries • Someone must bear the ecological burden of consumption by the affluent • Our continued over-consumption hits the poor hardest
Gross National Happiness (GNH) • It is an attempt to define quality of life in a more holistic and psychological terms than GNP • GNH is practiced in Bhutan since 2004 and is based on Buddhist worldview • GNH believes that material and spiritual development together can constitute true development • Four pillars of GNH • The promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development • Preservation and promotion of cultural values • Conservation of the natural environment • Establishment of good governance
Roots of the crisis • Current practice of “development” is material economy centric, understood as economic growth • Economic growth means increase in the production and consumption of goods and services, which is measured as GDP • A thinking which is consequence of Western, “modern” worldview • Human species is superior than all creatures, • Nature is an infinite resource • Materialism and consumerism • Atomizing the individuals • Nationalizing the families, communities and their functions
Option • Patchwork approach would not resolve the crisis • The notion of development needs complete transformation • Alternative could be more than economic growthwith environment, welfare, culture and society finding a place in it • India flourished as a world leader even on the economic front for 1700 years and still retained balance with nature and life • Therefore this worldview could be the basis of Indian approach to development
Indian Legacy • With this world view, Indian spectacular achievements as an economic superpower is undisputedly established • Paul Bairoch – Economic Historian – GATT • Estimated global production for the period of 1700 - 1980 • During 1700 – 1800 - India’s share of global production was 24.5% as opposed to 23.2% produced by entire Europe • Angus Maddisson – Economic Historian – OECD • Estimated global GDP and population for the period of 1 CE – 2000 CE – predicted till 2030 • From the 1CE till 1700CE –for 1700 years – India had almost continuously reigned as the most successful and most powerful economy in the world • Generating over a fifth to a third of the global output continuously over the millennia
Distribution of World GDP: 1-2003AD First row: Share of GDP in Billion dollars; Second row: Percentage contribution to global GDP Source: Angus Maddisson, Contours of the World Economy 1-2030AD, Oxford 2007
Indian worldview • The whole universe is the manifestation of consciousness (Vishwa Chaitanya) at different levels • Chiti – Universal integration of souls - Individual to nation creates kinship based society • Philosophy of Purushartha evolved and instituted a model of duty centric socio-economic order • Purusharthic life: worshiping wealth (Artha) and pleasure (Kama) subjected to the code of ethics (Dharma) leading to eternal bliss (Moksha) • Purushartha – acquiring wealth as duty with a sense of detachment leading to wealth multiplied and not wasted needlessly. • Tenets of Dharma – freedom (Swatantrya), truth(Satya), non-violence (Ahimsa), helping others (Paropakara), charity (Dana), sacrifice (Tyaga) • Belief that all wealth belongs to god and not be used for ones own enjoyment - restrain hyper consumption, increases savings for future generations and preserve environment
Indian worldview • Relational approach with recognition of “organic connectivity” of individual, family, community, society, nation, the worldand finally to entire creation at various levels • All units are interdependent, integrated, self motivated, self propelled and self regulated • Relationship based society with Duties and rights integrated, acts as social security and safety net. • Like family with the individual as its inseparable parttake care of elders, infirm, unemployed, disabled and others • These civilizational resources and social capitalhas a perennial advantage to future socioeconomic growth and power
Integrated Human development (IHD) • Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah,Sarve Santu Niramayaah, Sarve Bhadrani Pasyantu, Maa Kaschid-Dukha-Bhag-Bhavet. - Ensuring “Sukha (happiness) and Hita (well being)” to all • Durable and non-conflicting happiness • Ensuring physical and emotional well being • Increasing satisfaction of life • Expanding freedom and capabilities • Wealth creation with moderate consumption and Savings orientation which is environmentally sustainable • Duties and rights integration • Decentralization through enriching and empowering civilizational infrastructureand social capital (Family, community, society and so on)
Our Objectives Currently Development Foundation is engaged in following projects • Synthesizing the Indian worldview and its philosophical basis • Deriving principles to establish a sustainable socio-economic order based on Indian worldview • Creating a new understanding Indian social theory and • Reconstructing Indian Economic Thought In the long run Foundation intends • To define the concept of development based on Indian Ethos • To establish a theory based solutions to current development crisis • To build policy research and advocacy group to promote Indian model of development nationally and internationally
It is a long journey Quest has just begun we need your suggestions and cooperation