ISSN No-2031-5063

Vol.1,Issue.VI/Dec 2011pp.1-4

Research Paper

In search of Strong Democratic Political Reforms in India for Sustainable Development: Inclusive Reflections and Refractions
Mr. M. Muniraju Assistant Professor, Department of Studies and Research in Economics, Tumkur University, Tumkur-572103, Karnataka, INDIA Valmiki Rama Krishna* Assistant Professor, Department of Studies and Research in Political Science, Tumkur University, Tumkur-572103, Karnataka, INDIA

ABSTRACT The democratic reforms with political will are need of the hour since from the ages of development and innovation of technology. In this backdrop the paper discusses and realizes the need for political reforms in a democratic setup for more innovative and reflective sustainable development for achieving competitive advantage. Innovations are sought from users, staff and of course R&D experts within and outside the public organisation.

Globalisation must not leave the 'bottom billion' behind, remarked by the role of citizens in generating innovations has remained less well understood. The signatures of sustainability can only be noticed in conditions where the criteria for evaluating utility of an idea include contribution of a political reforms or service towards sustainability. The transformation in the innovation model is required because the existing model stresses of political will with corruption. The paper will evaluate the reflections of political will in a democratic setup for sustainable development and Inclusive growth with growing economic recession and political scenario towards globalized economic forces, but given a chance, they can be a provider of solutions that may need further value addition. Key Words: Inclusive Growth, Politics, Reforms, Globalisation, Policies "In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine." Great Law of Iroquois "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." Edward Abbey Introduction Research, like everyday life, often generates ethical dilemmas in which it may be impossible to find agreement on what is right or wrong. The ethical conduct of development and research always requires deliberation on values and principles, exercise of judgment, and an appreciation of context. Sustainable development and research presents specific ethical challenges that can't always be appropriately dealt with through standard ethical procedures for researching inclusive development or sustainable development. Though India is the largest democracy in the world yet it is unfortunate find unequal access to development among different social and economic groups whether it is scheduled castes, Tribes or women and so on. Efforts were on for quite sometime to provide needful opportunities to weaker sections to access development avenues yet the

results were not quite encouraging (Vasudeva Rao B. S. & Rajani Kanth, G; 2007). However, it is heartening to observe that the recent past has been witnessing a sea change in terms of efforts to empower weaker sections, especially in terms of targeting appropriate communities and the strategies adopted. In this regard there has always been scope and room to future refine the approach to develop weaker sections by studying the practices adopted and programmes undertaken. Development of rural areas has been at the core of planning process in the country and also in the State. Rural Development is a broad, inclusive term which takes in its ambit socio-economic and political development of the rural areas. It includes measures to strengthen the democratic fabric of society through the Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as provide the vast rural multitude 'voice and choice' apart from measures to improve the rural infrastructure, improve income of rural households and delivery systems pertaining to education, health and safety net mechanisms. However, concerted and planned efforts were made by the Government of India after Independence to develop rural society through Community Development Programmes (CDP). The Planning Commission in their First Five Year Plan had described the Community Development Projects as the method through which five year plan sought to initiate a process of transformation of the social and economic life of the villages. According to an UNO Report, CD is assigned to promote better living for the whole community with the active participation and if possible, on the initiative of the community, if this initiative is not forth coming, by the same use of techniques for arousing it and stimulating it in order to secure its active and enthusiastic response. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first and former Prime Minister of India said that the Community Development were of vital importance and so much for the material achievements that they would bring about, but much more so, because they seemed to build up the community and the individual and to make the latter the builder of his/her own village centres and of India in the larger sense (Desai, 1969). Giriappa S. (1998) has conducted many evaluation studies on IRDP and Surplus Land Allotment sponsored by the Ministry of Rural Area and Employment has been completeld. The evaluation studies have been conducted in

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Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Belgaum, Bellary, Chitradurga, any government strategy for sustainable growth and the Dharwad and Raichur. He has concluded that most IRDP frameworks for inclusive growth analytics are eclectic in programmes have achieved their targets. spirit. Employment growth generates new jobs and income for the individual - from wages in all types of firms, or from Sustainable Development self employment, usually in micro firms - while productivity The idea of sustainable development grew from growth has the potential to lift the wages of those employed numerous environmental movements in earlier decades and and the returns to the self-employed. The ability of was defined in 1987 by the World Commission on individuals to be productively employed depends on the Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission opportunities to make full use of available resources as the 1987) as: economy evolves over time. Sustainable Development Policy Impact on Food Security Development that meets the needs of the present, without Food security is affected by agricultural and social compromising the ability of future generations to meet their sector policies that have a direct bearing on it as well as own needs. macroeconomic and trade policies that indirectly influence This contributed to the understanding that sustainable it. Macro economic policies include fiscal, monetary and development encompasses a number of areas and highlights exchange rate polices. Fiscal policy involves among other sustainability as the idea of environmental, economic and things keeping budgetary deficits under check either by social progress and equity, all within the limits of the world's increased taxation or reduced government expenditures. natural resources (Anup Shah; 2009). Reducing government expenditures might usually mean a However, the record on moving towards sustainability so far reduction in social sector expenditures or subsidies appears to have been quite poor. Though we might not (including on agricultural inputs) or in public investment always hear about it, sustainable development (and all the (including in agriculture). All of these can have adverse inter-related issues associated with it) is an urgent issue, and implications for food security. Monetary policy determines has been for many years, though political will has been slow- the credit available as well as its costs (interest rate). These paced at best. For example, there are can impact upon food security indirectly through their effect 1.3 billion without access to clean water; on investment response of farmers, traders, processing sector about half of humanity lacking access to adequate etc. Trade policies such as tariffs, variable levies and other sanitation and living on less than 2 dollars a day; regulations on imports/exports can influence agriculture approximately 2 billion without access to growth, food prices etc which have crucial implications for electricity; food security. Infrastructure polices that expand road networks e.g. can reduce transportation costs benefiting both And this is in an age of immense wealth in increasingly fewer producers in surplus areas and consumers in deficit areas by hands. The inequality of consumption (and therefore, use of allowing new marketing possibilities (Rama Krishna: 2008). resources, which affects the environment) is terribly skewed: Policies need to ensure effective participation of people and 20% of the world's people in the highest-income countries economic viability of institutions delivering irrigation, account for 86% of total private consumption expenditures power and other rural infrastructural services. The the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.3% according to the 1998 inherently unstable nature of agriculture justifies the United Nations Human Development Report. presence of social safety net programs. Gaver Chatterjee (2003), It's against the backdrop of What is Inclusive Growth (IG) continuous neglect to develop the potential of this large minority of challenged children that over 150 delegates from It is often used interchangeably with a suite of other 30 countries converged upon Kochi, Kerala, in late January, terms, including 'broad-based growth', 'shared growth', and 2003 to discuss ways and means to right this manifest wrong, 'pro-poor growth'. Traditionally, poverty and growth not only in India but around the world. The four-day analyses have been done separately. IG focuses on economic conference titled 'North-South Dialogue II on Inclusive growth which is a necessary and crucial condition for Education: From Rhetoric to Reality', culminated in the poverty reduction. IG adopts a long term perspective and is Kochi Declaration which calls upon governments around the concerned with sustained growth. Inclusive growth refers world to recognise and enforce the right of disabled children both to the pace and pattern of growth, which is considered, to be included in mainstream education institutions. interlinked, and therefore in need to be addressed together. It's a cruel scandal that over 90 million physically The idea that both the pace and pattern of growth are critical challenged children worldwide, of who 36 million are in for achieving a high, sustainable growth record, as well as India, are being systemically excluded from mainstream poverty reduction, is consistent with the findings in the education. The national interest as much as the realisation of Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and the fundamental right to education of India's 40 million Inclusive Development (Commission on Growth and challenged children demands that this opportunity to right a Development, 2008). Here we emphasize the idea of continuous wrong is not muffed. equality of opportunity in terms of access to markets, Land reforms and Gram Swaraj resources, and unbiased regulatory environment for Land reforms now have another serious angle with businesses and individuals. The Commission on Growth and a food crisis deepening the world over. The success though Development (2008) considers systematic inequality of with certain limitations, of Acharya Vinoba Bhave's opportunity toxic as it will derail the growth process Bhoodan movement in the 1950s, inspired the setting up of through political channels or conflict. Under the absolute Ekta Parishad, an organisation that seeks to ensure that the definition, growth is considered to be pro-poor as long as state implements existing land and agriculture laws or poor people benefit in absolute terms, as reflected in some creates new ones that are favourable to the poor and landless. agreed measure of poverty (Ravallion and Chen, 2003). To fore see the Gram swaraj and urban migration with Policies for inclusive growth are an important component of

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crowded cities gasping for breath and innumerable villages lacking the means of sustenance, we are seeing a skewed developmental model that needs to be tackled urgently. Providing Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities India's democratic will recognizes the need for direct action to eradicate poverty by strengthening employment and income-generating opportunities. It stresses on the need to generate remunerative employment compatible with the country's endowments; assign a high priority to professional training and develop an adequate facilitating infrastructure. Sustainable Human Settlements Decentralized democracy identifies the objective of sustainable human settlement as being crucial to sustainable development. This would include improving the social economic and the environmental quality of human settlements and the living and working environment for all people in particular the urban and rural poor. Infrastructure, Population and Health The Government of India has adopted an integrated approach to population and health, linking population policies and programmes to improving human conditions and poverty reduction. This approach simultaneously addresses concerns about rapid population growth and the need to improve individual and family welfare. Government should re-think how infrastructure's role interacts with other areas that impact firms' decisions to invest such as bureaucracy, corruption, and macroeconomic stability. These areas beg the question of how to reconcile existing infrastructure financing approaches with a country's desire for better governance and a more attractive business climate for private investment. Given the vast infrastructure needs in India, a progressive approach is needed that levels the playing field, deters political and policy risk, and develops more efficient, transparent market mechanisms. If there is to be real progress toward development goals and reduced poverty, this modernization of approaches offers a way forward. Economist's talk of the price signal that is fundamental to capitalism, the ability for prices to indicate when a resource is becoming scarcer. At such a time, markets mobilize automatically to address this by looking for ways to bring down costs. As a result, resources are supposedly infinite. For example, if energy costs go up, businesses will look for a way to minimize such costs for themselves, and it is in such a time that alternatives come about and/or existing resources last longer because they are used more efficiently. Running out of resources should therefore be averted. However, it has long been argued that prices don't truly reflect the full cost of things, so either the signal is incorrect, or comes too late. The price signal also implies the poorest often pay the heaviest costs. For example, commercially over-fishing a region may mean fish from that area becomes harder to catch and more expensive, possibly allowing that ecosystem time to recover (though that is not guaranteed, either). However, while commercial entities can exploit resources elsewhere, local fishermen will go out of business and the poorer will likely go hungry (as also detailed on this site's section on biodiversity). This then has an impact on various local social, political and economic issues. In addition to that, other related measurements, such as GNP are therefore flawed, and even reward unproductive or inefficient behavior (e.g. Efficiently producing unhealthy food and the unhealthy consumer culture to go with it may profit the food industry and a private health sector that has to deal with it, all of which require more use of

resources. More examples are discussed on this site's section on consumption and consumerism). Our continued inefficient pumping of greenhouse gases into the environment without factoring the enormous cost as the climate already begins to change is perhaps an example where price signals may come too late, or at a time when there is already significant impact to many people. Resources that could be available more indefinitely become finite because of our inability or unwillingness to change. Sustainable Environment Vu Quynh Phuong (2010) improve environmental awareness and develop capacity in use of environmental support tools such as manual, toolkit and indicators that will enable the assessment of real costs of environmental degradation relative to poverty reduction goals in the decision - making process on land use and land allocation since land evaluation and allocation are considered as among the most fundamental activities in effective resource development and management. Climate Change negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of an increasingly globalized and interconnected and interdependent world economy. Development must, therefore, remain at the centre of the global discourse. Action on Climate Change must enhance, not diminish the prospects for development. It must not sharpen the division of the world between an affluent North and an impoverished South, and justify this with a green label. What we require is a collaborative spirit which acknowledges the pervasive threat of Climate Change to humanity and seeks to find answers that enhance, not diminish the prospects of development, particularly of developing countries. All members of our common global family should have equal entitlement to the fruits of prosperity (Shyam Saran; 2009). Conversely, slow growth or lagging regions Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradeshsuffer with growing, less-educated populations, which are expected to follow more traditional economic growth and development patterns. These areas may also be a political force for redistributing resources unless they are incentized to reform governance, business climates, and infrastructure offerings. Recent research reports that politicians in electorally competitive states announce large numbers of infrastructure projects ahead of elections, and then don't follow through. States, particularly in lagging regions, have proved wasteful and corrupt in infrastructure spending. An antidote for both fast growth states attracting most of the foreign investmentin dynamic cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennaiand lagging states, may be a new approach to private investment in infrastructure. As a new form of public private partnership, global capital markets can offer a viable source of funds, promote better governance, and bring transparency to infrastructure's complexities (Andrew Chen and Jennifer Warren Kubik; 2007). Political will to implement change and self-reliance were among the elements emphasized as being critical for successful sustainable development as the first round table discussion of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) was held bringing together heads of State, ministers, specialized agencies and other organizations. The round table discussion, held under the theme "Making it happen", was organized around five broad questions: how to mobilize global and domestic resources in support of the Millennium Development Goals and the WEHAB priorities (water and sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity); how to improve coherence and consistency in

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national and international institutions and build capacity; how to promote regional and global cooperation on the WEHAB priorities; how to bring scientific knowledge to bear on decision-making and deploying the resources for research and development in sustainable development; and how the Summit could lead to renewed and improved commitments for global solidarity. Countries defined as less developed should gain a more equitable position with regard to resources. If the world really wanted to reduce poverty as soon as possible, an exceptional supplementary effort was needed in the form of additional resources. A specific plan of action was urgently required and the world could not afford to take another 10 years to implement it. Conclusion More focus is needed on developing technologies that are environment friendly. Advances in such technologies would have a profound impact on all manner of society. Yet, achieving sustainable development seems primarily a political task not a technological one, though technology may be one of the many factors that could play an important part in moving towards more sustainable development. Without the political will to overcome special interests, it will prove difficult and those without voices to be heard, such as the poor that make up the majority of the planet, would be impacted the most. In today's era, the economic prospects have to be seen in the light of inclusive growth and sustainable development as a consequence of various opportunities that in recent years have dominated the economic field without democratic principles. Sustainable growth as a major booster for our economic prospects, it is necessary to first see the herculean task and the challenges that face the country. In India, the main challenge we have to face is that of vast disparity of status and opportunities. Large number of those living in rural areas, remote villages, coastal areas, form a very sizeable block which deserves to be uplifted and made partners and beneficiaries of the opportunities. Still millions are living below poverty line; there is large scale unemployment, illiteracy and numerous other deprivations of unalienable basic human rights of our fellow countrymen. Lot may have been done but lot more is required to be done. It is a long way to go. The benefits which may arise from opportunities leading to better economic growth, if do not, percolate to such million of people within a reasonable time, the benefits can be short-lived or counter productive. References: 1. Andrew Chen and Jennifer Warren Kubik (2007), Sustainable Development for India: Solving the Infrastructure Puzzle, based on the paper Complementing Economic Advances in India: A New Approach in Financing Infrastructure Projects, Journal of Structured Finance, summer 2007. 2. Anup Shah (2009), 'Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All,' Wednesday, November 18, http://www.globalissues.org/ (accessed on 2nd Oct, 2011). 3. Commission on Growth and Development (2008) Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development, the World Bank. 4. Desai A. R. (1969). Rural Sociology in India, Popular Publishing House, New Delhi.

5. Gaver Chatterjee (2003), 'The Movement for Inclusive Education,' India Together-Education World, Space Share, Bangalore. 6. Giriappa, S. (1998). Evaluation of Rural Development Programmes, Mohit Publications, New Delhi. 7. Jamuna Rangachari (2009), The Age at Gandhi, Life Positive, Issue: March, 2009, p. 15. 8. IX FYP: (1997-2002), Poverty eradication and human resource development, Ninth Five-Year Plan: 19972002, Vol. 2: Thematic Issues and Sectoral Programmes, New Delhi: Planning Commission, p. 301. 9. Rama Krishna V (2008) Food Security and Food Policies: - The Experience of India, Published in International Research Journal of Social Sciences, Pondicherry University, Volume: 1, Issue: 2, pp. 134. 10. Ravallion, M. and S. Chen (2003) Measuring propoor growth. Economics Letters 78, pp. 93-99. 11. Shyam Saran (2009), The Road to Copenhagen: India's Position on Climate Change Issues, Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 12. Vasudeva Rao B. S. & Rajani Kanth, G. Edt., (2007), 'Rural Development and Empowerment of Weaker Sections: Practices, Promotion and Programmes,' The Associated Pub, xiv, p. 522. 13. Vu Quynh Phuong (2010), 'How to incorporate poverty reduction with environmental issues to achieve sustainable livelihood in Ha Giang Province of Viet Nam,' Province's People Committee of Ha Giang , Policy Brief, p. 31. 14. World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002), ENV/DEV/J/27, Department of Public Information News and Media Services Division - New York, 26 August-4 September 2002.

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