Introduction
The agenda of inclusivity and sustainability has become the focus of policy framework both at national and international level. The approach of development through “including” the general mass is directed towards a broad based growth, shared growth, and pro-poor growth.
World Bank defines the IG as follows:
“Inclusive Growth refers both to the pace and pattern of growth, which are interlinked and must be addressed together.”
Thus, in broad sense, IG means the inclusion of all sections of society in the process of economic development and sharing of its benefit. Therefore, IG is not only an outcome or end but a process or a mean in itself.
Dimensions of IG
These are the pillars of the building block of IG, or in simple terms, these are the ideals on which IG is based. Without these ideals, the IG remains superfluous in its merit.
• Economic Growth
India is among the fastest-growing major economies in the world. However, currently Indian economy is facing slowdown due to both cyclic and structural challenges.
However, the target of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy by 2024-25 can allow India to reduce inequality, increase social expenditure and provide employment to all.
• Equality:
Equality of opportunity in terms of access to markets, resources, and unbiased regulatory environment are the ends to mean of equality. In-equalities exist in various manners which are social inequalities, rural-urban divide, regional disparities, digital divide etc. To realize the IG in its ultimate form, equality is the most fundamental criteria. IG and equality impact each other. Without equality, IG can’t be achieved and lack of IG may lead to in-equality in real or perceived forms. Thus, IG and equality are mutually reinforcing. In contemporary economic environment, gender equality has become a basic element of IG. Gender inequality is a pervasive problem in Indian social set-up which has adverse effect on women. Although Indian economy has progressed, the equality has retrograded at all levels whether social or economic. An OECD report has identified that inequality in India has been continuously rising which has posed policy challenges in promotion of inclusiveness.
• Technological Advancement
The world is moving towards an era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. These technological advancements have capabilities to both decrease or increase the inequality depending on the way these are being used.
Technology can help to combat other challenges too,
• Agriculture- Modern technology can help in making an agro-value chain from farmer to consumer more efficient and competitive.
• Manufacturing– Technology can resolve the problems of finance, procuring raw materials, land, and linkages with the user market. GST was made possible only with the help of sound technology.
• Education– Innovative digital technologies can create new forms of adaptive and peer learning, increasing access to trainers and mentors, providing useful data in real-time.
• Health– Technologies could transform the delivery of public health services – extend care through remote health services.
• Social Development
It means the empowerment of all marginalised sections of the population like SC/ST/OBC/Minorities, women and transgenders.
Empowerment can be done by improving institutions of the social structure i.e. hospitals especially primary care in the rural areas, schools, universities, etc.
Investment in social structures will not only boost growth (by fiscal stimulus) but will also create a healthy and capable generation to handle future work
• Sustainability
In long term, it has been identified that, there has been a gross mismatch between the outcomes of the Indian Economic Planning for IG with respect to environment. Although, Indian economy has witnessed a rapid growth, there has been a decline in the environment and standard of living of the poor. In the issues related to IG as discussed ahead, it has been elaborated that Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) has put a sheer pressure on the environment and created a rural-urban divide. Sustainability and IG can’t be achieved in isolation and they supplement each other.
• Good Governance:
In simple words, governance means the regulatory, monitoring or controlling process which facilitates the devilry of the government services. Good governance results in effectiveness and efficiency, it upholds justice in the rule of law, and accountability and it encourages popular participation, consensus, and equality. Tenth plan defines governance in following way”.
As per OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), inclusive growth is economic growth that is distributed fairly across society and creates opportunities for all.
Defining inclusive growth, rapid pace of economic growth is necessary for substantial poverty reduction and for the growth to be sustainable in the long run, it must be broad based across sectors and inclusive of large part of a country’s labour force.
Promoting inclusive growth requires policymakers to address both growth and income distribution, so it requires an understanding of the relationships between growth, poverty and inequality. Economic growth is a prerequisite for poverty reduction when income distribution is held constant. The acknowledgment that inequality affects the impact of growth on poverty reduction has led to a broad agreement that it is necessary to look beyond a ‘growth-first’ agenda in order to successfully deliver inclusive growth.
The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are
Countries have committed themselves to time-bound targets of prosperity, people, planet, peace, partnership (five P’s) keeping in line with the United Nations 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Paris Agreement, which is part of the SDG framework, requires every country to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century . In order to achieve results in SDG, policy frameworks adopted by the Governments play a crucial role. The three principle layers to measure government efforts to implement the long-term objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement:
The SDG index summaries countries’ current performance and trends on the 17 SDGs.India ranks 115 in 2019.
In the context of India’s inclusive growth trajectory, the strategies of Inclusive growth and development came into the attention in the progressing policies of emerging market economies (EMEs) with higher economic growth rates. With an accelerated economic growth rate, Indian policy makers too moved their concentration on Inclusive growth and expansion while formulating the 12th five-year plan.Thus, the plan targeted deprived sections of the Indian population, health, employment, rural urban infrastructure, women and child development and social security measures against the backdrop of the strategy.
Key elements of inclusive growth
Since globalization, significant improvement in India’s economic and social development made the nation to grow strongly in the 21st century. The following factors encouraged India to concentrate more on inclusive growth:
• India is the 7th largest country by area and 2nd by population. It is the 12th largest economy at market exchange rate and 4th largest by PPP. Yet, India is far away from the development of the neighbourhood nation, i.e., China.
• The exclusion in terms of low agriculture
• There are so many studies that estimate that the cost of corruption in India amounts to over 10% of GDP. Corruption is one of the ills that prevent inclusive growth.
• Although child labour has been banned by the law in India and there are stringent provisions to deter this inhuman practice, still, many children in India are unaware of education as their lives are spoiled to labour work.
• Literacy levels have to rise to provide the skilled workforce, required for higher growth.
Achievement of 9% of GDP growth for
• as a whole is one of the boosting factors which gives the importance to the Inclusive growth in India.
• Reducing poverty and other disparities and raising economic growth is the key objectives of the nation through inclusive growth.
Measuring Inclusive Growth
Inclusive Development Index (IDI)
In the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF), India ranked 62nd out of 74 emerging countries and was among the least inclusive countries in Group of 20 (G-20) countries.
The IDI is based on the idea that most people base their country’s growth not on GDP but by their own standard of living.
It gives a measure of inequality based on three parameters: :
• Growth and development
• Inclusion
• Inter-generational equity and sustainability.
India also did not make it to the top 10 most inclusive emerging and developing economies, where its neighbours Nepal, China and Sri Lanka made a mark.
India performed its best in terms of “intergenerational equity and sustainability”, ranking 44th, for which credit can be attributed to its demographic dividend
Measures Taken by India to Achieve Inclusive Growth
Several schemes are being implemented by the government for inclusive growth which includes the following:
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Scheme (MGNREGA)
• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
• Mudra Bank scheme
• Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)
• Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)
• National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
• Bharat Nirman
• Swachh Bharat Mission
• Mission Ayushman
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
• Government is working with NGOs and International groupings in policy making eg:
o DISHA Project is being implemented in partnership with UNDP for creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women in India.
• NITI Aayog’s Strategy for New India @75 has the following objectives for the inclusive growth:
o To have a rapid growth, which reaches 9-10% by 2022-23, which is inclusive, clean, sustained and formalized.
o To have an inclusive development in the cities to ensure that urban poor and slum dwellers including recent migrants can avail city services.
o To make schools more inclusive by addressing the barriers related to the physical environment (e.g. accessible toilets), admission procedures as well as curriculum design.
o To make higher education more inclusive for the most vulnerable groups.
o To provide quality ambulatory services for an inclusive package of diagnostic, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care, close to the people.
o To prepare an inclusive policy framework with citizens at the center
Conclusion
• Indian government along with the state gouvernments and local governments should continue to focus on eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development in order to improve the lives of India’s people.
• Inclusive growth will help in the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized populations, improve livelihoods, and augment skill-building for women.
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