Inclusive Development In India: Agriculture, Hunger, Poverty, Inequalities and Human Development¹

Inclusive development is a boarder concept than inclusive growth for the poor and vulnerable as it goes beyond growth and includes wellbeing. In this lecture, we examined performance, challenges and policies in three inter-related components of inclusive development in India: (a) agriculture development and achieving zero hunger; (b) reduction in poverty and inequalities and; (c) human development.

India is now aspiring to achieve the status of a developed nation by 2047, at the 100^th anniversary of independence. GDP growth is important but it has to be inclusive and sustainable to benefit all sections of the society. Agricultural transformation needs a change in the narrative in the new context of food systems approach, climate change and nutrition. There are significant challenges to achieving zero hunger. Nutrition is determined by several factors and needs a multi-sectoral approach. Inequalities in income, and wealth, across social groups and regions should reduce considerably in the next 25 years by strengthening policies on employment and human development. Employment creation with quality should be at the heart of the strategy for reducing inequalities. More investments in education and health are required to achieve higher human development. One sector that can transform India is education. We have a great quality dichotomy in the education sector. One has to fix this dichotomy in education and skills. But human development goes beyond health and education and should enhance freedom of choice for people. The Tax/GDP ratio has to be improved in order to raise resources for physical infrastructure and social sector development. Non-economic factors like norms, culture and beliefs can also influence the level of inclusion/exclusion. Constitution and democratic values have to be followed. Judicial, police and civil service reforms are important for both growth and inclusion. The role of states in this journey is equally crucial if India wants to be a developed country and achieve inclusive development by 2047. Women empowerment including an increase in the work participation rates of women will contribute immensely to growth and equity.

“In India, the prevailing inequitable socioeconomic structure, and the influence exerted by the socio-economically privileged sections on economic policy-making and implementation, and not globalisation per se, are responsible for the rise in income inequalities. The political and economic drivers of declining income inequality include the deepening of democracy, new social movements, expansion of education and social safety nets, and an increase in government transfers to the poor. While some of the most atrocious social inequalities have been reduced in India, the idea of equality continues to encounter serious difficulties. Forging unity between the like-minded political parties around the demands for social justice and protection of the environment is critical to achieving inclusive development” (p.1, C.H. Hanumantha Rao, 2021)

It is a great honour and privilege to deliver the Presidential Address at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Social Science Institutions. I am grateful to the Association for conferring this honour on me. As you know IASSI is a federal formation of universities and research institutes that aims to promote and strengthen teaching and research in social sciences. It publishes a quarterly titled ‘Contributions to Indian Social Sciences’. The annual conferences of the Association provide opportunities for young scholars to present research papers and interact with eminent social scientists.

Keeping in view the broader interests of the IASSI, I have chosen to speak on ‘Inclusive Development: Agriculture, hunger, poverty, inequalities and human development. It is known that the topic ‘inclusiveness’ is one of the most discussed development problems all over the world.