India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 in a sustainable way, unlike OECD, says Shamika Ravi

New Delhi: India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 in a sustainable way, unlike the rich nations’ model of “growth at all costs”, according to economist Shamika Ravi.

The country wouldn’t choose the path that the OECD (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) or the rich nations took "because that would be terribly irresponsible”, said Ravi, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. "We must grow in a way in which the world, the earth at large, is not affected adversely. And therefore, we aspire to have growth, which is more, not just equitable, but also sustainable.”

India is perhaps the only nation with low levels of per capita income and aspiring for a green transition, Ravi said on the sidelines of an event, ‘Youth Sabha 2047: Shaping India’s Future’, organised by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water on Monday in New Delhi.

The government’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision targets to turn India into a developed economy with GDP expanding from $3.4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2047. The goal encompasses economic growth, social progress, good governance and environmental sustainability. The nation’s ambitious targets for 2047 include achieving 90% green grid capacity, turning all vehicles sold electric by 2035, and shifting heavy industrial production towards green hydrogen and electrification.

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“We are spending many scarce resources into a green transition, which is taking us on the path to a sustainable way,” Ravi said. “The launch of LiFE project is to basically say we must start young, we must start early into behavioural changes which have a very long-term impact on the nature of our growth.”

Net-Zero strategy: Industry shift and youth involvement vital

Projections suggest that India's CO2 emissions will peak in the early 2030s and subsequently decrease to around 800 million tonnes a year by 2047, marking an 85-90% progress towards net-zero. Industries such as cement, steel, construction and textiles account for around 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions, most coming from metals, minerals, manufacturing, and rubber & plastic. All these rely heavily on electricity generated from fossil fuels. At the global climate summit COP-26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will achieve net-zero by 2070.

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Ravi said the energy and passion of India’s youth should be channelled to meet sustainable development goals. “We are trying from within the government to push the government apparatus, the institutions, the budgeting, vision as such, which is getting more and more clear,” she said. “Now we need the youth to respond. We need the youth to mobilize and bring in a lot of those.”

They should come up with solutions and be willing to take risks, Ravi said. “There are lots of business solutions which have robust revenue models, which help us take a lot of these new tech solutions to a lot of existing problems. And in India, you can take these things to scale.”