Hyderabad: India needs to ensure sustainable development while climbing the economic ladder to fulfil the basic needs of its people, thus enabling the percolation of its pecuniary growth to the ground levels, noted economist Jeffrey Sachs said.
Describing the country’s rapid economic growth in the post-liberalisation era as one of the success stories of the world, he said there are “huge gaps” between economic advancement and various human development parameters.
Despite economic success and technological advancement, basic needs of people like health and education have not been met, Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University, said last night, in a lecture on “Challenges of Climate Change and Sustainable Development in India” at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here.
He suggested massive public investment to bridge the gap and tackle malnutrition, maternal mortality and diseases as well.
Maintaining that India was stressed environmentally, he said there was need for strategies to mitigate emission of green house gases.
Government should provide incentives to encourage non-polluting technologies and take steps to prevent deforestation, Sachs observed.
He expressed confidence that India could be a role model for Africa in reducing green house gas emissions.