Development dilemmas, at home and abroad

The confluence of an impossible trinity at home and natural, economic, technological and geopolitical disruptions globally raises major concerns

India’s development options are being shaped by dilemmas at home and monumental changes in the external environment. 

Domestically, there is a seeming impossible trinity of jobs, growth and sustainability, where at best two out of three objectives get fulfilled. For instance, solar parks attract international investment in sustainable infrastructure but do not create as many jobs as distributed energy infrastructure. Scaling up natural farming is good for soil health, carbon retention and water conservation and is labour-intensive, but value addition in farm yields might not compensate for value loss in the fertiliser industry. With its substantial share of India’s industrial output