CB BureauIndustry leaders participating at the India Economic Sunmmit agreed that sustainable development cannot happen without adequate management of natural resources.
At a three-day summit, organized by the World Economic Forum in New Delhi, that ends today, Malini Mehra, founder and chief executive of the Centre for Social Markets, sounded a note of caution saying, ‘There’s been such an unprecedented biodiversity and ecological collapse. There are still obscene levels of inequality, starvation, illiteracy and infant mortality. There is growth, but it’s skewed. We have more mobile phones than we have toilets in this country.’
However, Mehra agreed that quality government process and smart planning would be the key to our future.
Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group, participated in a discussion on Actions for Ethical and Balanced Consumption. ‘We’re at a stage of accelerated growth, but it must be done smartly, keeping environmental and social concerns in mind. But economic growth must not be sacrificed,’ said Godrej.
Highlighting the issue of subsidies, Godrej said, ‘We tend to under-price our services for the poor. But the way to support the underprivileged is with grants and not under-pricing.’
Baba N Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge Ltd, stressed on the role of technology in exploiting resources smartly.
‘If we were to provide fixed lines to all the 600 million people who use mobile phones today, there would not be enough copper in the world. In the auto sector, India is largely a small-car market. A small car uses half the amount of steel and energy, and creates half the amount of emissions than a big European car. So the answer lies in using technology intelligently,’ said Kalyani.
Mikael Hagstrom, executive vice-president of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific for SAS, presented the benefits of data-driven decision making and planning.
‘Forty-one per cent of India’s population would be in cities by 2030. That’s massive in terms of the amount of water, electricity and other resources you would need. But knowledge-based planning can solve a lot of those problems,’ said Hagstrom .