Environmental Scenario in India

India has moved along an impressive growth path over the last decade, marked with falling share of agriculture, stagnating manufacturing, expanding services segment, growing trade orientation, enhanced FDI inflows etc. The consequent growth implications are obvious as far as the numbers like GDP growth rate and Per Capita GDP trend are concerned, but how sustainable the associated development is with respect to resource management and environmental governance?This book captures the economy-wide impacts of various activities on environment in India. The environmental impacts on water, air, soil quality and human health are captured through case studies from different parts of India. Analyzing separately the concern areas within agriculture (cultivation, aquaculture), manufacturing (industrial pollution, power generation), services (waste management, bio-medical waste, e-waste recycling) and external sector (agricultural trade, FDI inflow, trade in waste products) performance of India, the book attempts to find an answer to that crucial question. The methodology adopted to capture the environmental impacts of various economic activities is derived from the relevant branches like environmental economics, agricultural economics, and water resources economics. The book, focusing on particular sectors, indicates the concern areas and possible ways for enhancing environmental governance.

'The book is a competent effort to quantify the costs involved in the detrimental use of the techniques to increase the production and resulting environment degradation. Adoption of these techniques (sometimes due to policy promotions and often because of sheer negligence and ignorance –intentional/ unintentional both) has imposed a greater risk to human lives. When we try to assess the cost of worsening health consequences and other long run environmental outcomes this book can fill up huge gap in analysing economy of worsening environment conditions and human implications there on. The book provides a fascinating insight to the policy makers for an immediate action plan.' — Pragya Tiwari Gupta, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), India"The book covers a large array of environmental issues, the economic aspects of environmental degradation, and the matters of policy, law, governance and institutions as well as the community. The book would be of interest to researchers, planners, policy makers, managers and all those interested in our environment." —International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Vol 39, Issue 4, 2013"When we try to assess the cost of worsening health consequences and other long run environmental outcomes this book can fill up huge gap in analysing economy of worsening environment conditions and human implications there on. The book provides a fascinating insight to the policy makers for an immediate action plan."—Journal of Health Management, Vol 14, Issue 4, 2012 'This volume is a valuable resource on the dynamics of environmental pollution in the Indian context. The importance of the book lies in the fact that it does not merely look into the overall environmental scenario but deals with how different economic activities contribute to the process of environmental degradation. It provides pertinent directions in putting the Indian growth process on a sustainable and responsible track, and hence policymakers, researchers and other actors stand to benefit from the expositions.' — Professor Nitya Nanda, Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi

Sacchidananda Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi. Before joining NIPFP, he was with International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Hyderabad and World Wide Fund for Nature-India, New Delhi. He has worked on public finance, environmental economics and water resources management issues in India for the last decade. Dr Mukherjee has studied at the Madras School of Economics, Chennai (Ph.D. in Environmental Economics) and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (M.A. in Economics). He has conducted research projects funded by the Planning Commission, Government of India; IWMI, Colombo; British High Commission and published his research papers in national and international journals. He has been consulted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi and Madras School of Economics, Chennai. Dr. Mukherjee is a life member of Indian Society for Ecological Economics and a reviewer (ad hoc) of Water Resources Management,Water Policy, Environment and Development Economics, Urban Water Journal, and International Journal of Global Environmental Issues.Debashis Chakraborty is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. Before joining IIFT, he worked for five years in Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies. He received his Doctorate Degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research interests includes international trade policy and WTO negotiations, environmental sustainability and Indian economic development. He has presented and published his research in various academic and policy forums in India and abroad. He is also reviewer of several national and international journals.