Current Challenges Facing the Indian Economy

About this unit

This unit looks at challenges that shape India's development today: building human capital through education and health, developing rural areas, creating enough good jobs, and protecting the environment while growing. Each topic links economic theory to policies such as rural credit, cooperatives, employment programmes and sustainable development strategies.

Key ideas

• Human capital is the stock of skill and expertise of a nation; it is built by spending on education, health, training, migration and information.
• Rural development needs credit, marketing, diversification and sustainable practices such as organic farming.
• Workers can be self-employed, regular salaried or casual wage labourers; most Indian workers are in the informal sector.
• Unemployment can be open, disguised or seasonal.
• The environment supplies resources, absorbs waste, sustains life and gives aesthetic services.
• Sustainable development meets present needs without harming future generations.

How to prepare

Learn the definitions (worker-population ratio, formal and informal sector, carrying capacity, human capital vs human development) and a few examples of programmes and institutions such as NABARD, self-help groups and MGNREGA. Expect case-based questions applying these ideas.