India: Rapid Economic Growth and Socio-Environmental Development Problems

Abstract

Independent India has achieved outstanding economic success. India’s rating is number 5 among the largest world economies (2019), and the country is planning to become the third superpower by 2030. Indian achievements are based on rapid technology progress and active participation in globalization. Rapid economic growth is accompanied with deepening inequality among population and regions, socio-cultural regression features, environmental degradation. Contradictions are still more acute in pandemic time. There are very different concepts of crises solution and following development pattern. Representatives of market fundamentalism and big business are eager to use crises as a turning point to accelerate Indian monopolies growth and global development. The largest rural protests erupted because of “antifarmers” laws on free land market and development deregulation in interests of corporations. To achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (2030) India is required to implement planning of integral socio-environmental-economic development based on regionalization systems of different scales and advanced technology. Geography combining socioeconomic and physical geographical disciplines is called to play the leading role in studies of integral problems of sustainable regional and global development.