Social Environment of Business

A Report on
INDIA 2030
A Future Perspective

Submitted On:

27.01.2020

Submitted By:

F19094-Jhankar Mishra

F19023-Deepak Srinivas R.

F19039-Lincy Florence B.

F19051-Nobin Thomas

F19090-Isaac Raja Sekar M.

F19100-Kannampuzha Elizabeth James

F19112-Neelanshu Bhushan

F19114-Nithin J.Akkara

F19120-Rahul Rao K.

F19134-Sushmica R.

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 CONTENTS
Chapters Page No.

Introduction 3
1. Economy 4-5
2. Demographic Dividend 6-7
3. Education 8
4. Agriculture Sector 9-10
5. Manufacturing Sector 11-12
6. Service Sector 13-14
7. Health Sector 15
8. Technological Development 16-17
9. Energy Sector 18-19
Reference 20

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 INTRODUCTION

India started its economic reforms in 1991 and has seen huge incremental benefits – greater
openness, higher growth and substantial poverty reduction. India is now the world's sixth
largest economy and has seen major transformation in many parts of the economy and the
country. But with new opportunities have come new challenges which are now being
tackled.
Seminal reforms such as GST and IBC are transforming the economic landscape of the
country. India's infrastructure deficit is being addressed at a faster pace and the ease of
doing business is being tackled on a war footing with India's global rankings showing huge
improvements. But yet more needs to be done as the aspirations of India's young
population are huge. India is also in the midst of a huge demographic transformation which
if taken advantage of can propel India to even higher levels of growth.
The benefits of India's demographic dividend and a huge domestic market puts it in an
advantageous position to become a $9 - 10 trillion economy by 2030. However, our
economic growth is contingent on improving competitiveness, attracting more investment,
creating enough employment opportunities to absorb the growing population and
overcoming the challenges of exclusion and inequitable access due to multiple deprivations
of class, caste and gender — all of which require disruptive approaches to find solutions.
Unfortunately, there is no single silver bullet, no one action that will fix all the problems that
we face currently. Rather, we need to act on several fronts.
Policy consistency and coordination is essential if we are to achieve inclusive growth and
significantly reduce unemployment. Productivity and investment-led transformation can
inject new dynamism into the economy and ensure future growth, employment, and
prosperity. This would enable the economy to gain the momentum it needs to become the
global economic centre and become a magnet for investments. It is time to take our rightful
place among the big economic global players, deliver a better life to our citizens that our
Constitution promised nearly 70 years ago.

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 CHAPTER-1
ECONOMY
India is at crossroads and the stakes are high. If India reverses on its reforms, several experts
have warned of growth slowing down. A drop to the so-called 'Hindu growth rate', coined by
Prof Raj Krishna, of 4 per cent will take us only up to $4.3 trillion in GDP by 2030 – behind
Japan. At the same time bold reforms in land, labour and capital markets could accelerate
our growth to 9 per cent per annum which will make India a $9 trillion economy by 2030
(third largest after USA and China). The current 6-7 per cent will take us to $6-7 trillion.

The differences get starker by 2047 when India celebrates its 100th year of independence.
While fast growth will make India an economic super-power it may still not be a happy
country for which more inclusive job creating growth will be needed. And if we don't solve
the issues of inequality and underemployment, future growth could be threatened.
The issue of jobs and competitiveness is inter-related. If India intends to be a competitive
economy in global markets it should be able to 'Make in India' for both, the domestic
market (import less) and for the global market (export more). Growth based on
competitiveness should also lead to more jobs.
How much employment is actually being generated remains an area of considerable dispute
and controversy. India's working age population will increase by around 12 million per year
until 2030. India has a high labour force participation (LFP) rate for men, around 0.8 but very
low for women – under 0.27. Surprisingly the rate for women has been falling and more and
more women are dropping out of the labour force. With an average LFP rate of 0.5-0.55,
India will need to create 6-6.5 million jobs per year until 2030. India has been creating
employment for about 5-5.5 million people every year. This means, every year, one million
new entrants seeking employment cannot find productive work.
Another one million jobs per year is needed to absorb some of the people who could not
find suitable work over the last decade or so. If India is to make full use of the female labour
force, their LFP rate must rise to at least 0.5 which would make the average rate above 0.65.
Adding it all up will mean India must increase employment by 8.5-9 million people per year
until 2030.
India has been creating 750,000 jobs for every one per cent GDP growth⁶. Creating 8.5-9
million employment would require a GDP growth of 12 per cent per annum – a tall order for
India to achieve. Alternatively, India could reach that level of employment creation with a
GDP growth rate of 8.5 -9 per cent per annum if it can improve the employment elasticity of

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growth. If India could create a million jobs for every GDP growth, even 8.5-9 per cent GDP
growth would be enough to realise India's demographic dividend. This is an achievable goal
over the next 10-15 years even in the difficult global environment. Improving India's
competitiveness and creating more employment - intensive growth is not rocket science,
but it will require disciplined and coordinated actions on a variety of fronts. As India's
competitiveness and job surveys show, a waterfront of issues must be covered. These can
be summarized into a shared prosperity quadrilateral for India as seen in this picture; with
four broad areas of emphasis: build human capital, expand infrastructure, reform factor
markets and strengthen institutions.

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 CHAPTER 2
DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND
Economic growth, for any country has a direct correlation with changes to the number of
people in its active workforce and productivity gains. If we delve into the economic growth
patterns in the past, a key factor to economic prosperity in the developed world from the
end of World War II through the 1980s was an ever-increasing working-age population.
Today, India is home to one of the youngest populations in the world. If channelled and
skilled correctly, its young working class (with a median age of 31.4 in 2030) has the
potential to achieve significant productivity gains, thereby bolstering economic growth.
However, the growth benefit of this demographic dividend would not be automatic. A lot
depends on how well this working population can be trained and whether enough jobs are
created to employ the new labour force additions every year.

Four major factors are expected to drive India’s aspired economic growth: promotion of
human capital (education, skill development and health), infrastructure enhancement,
strengthening of institutions (governance, administration and law), and policy reforms.
Among these, human capital will be one of the fastest growing components of India’s
wealth.

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In order to support India’s strong economic growth outlook, increased spending on human
capital segments such as education and health will be imperative. However, latest data
released by the World Bank and the United Nations on human capital index across the world
highlights India as one of the underspending countries in the segment. The United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Index ranks India at 130 among 189
countries.
In fact, with a focus to improve the human capital scenario, the government announced
several new measures in Budget 2019-20 to improve the educational sector in India. This
includes, proposal of a new ‘National Education Policy’ to transform the higher education
system to global standards, introduction of a ‘Study in India’ programme to bring in foreign
students to India and a total amount of USD 57.5 million has been allocated for
improvement of educational institutions in FY2019-20.
With a median age of 28, India is a nation of young workers. The youth largely drives both
income and consumption in the country. The trend is expected to continue, as India will
have a median age of 31.4 years by 2030, compared with 40 years in the US and 42 years in
China.

According to India Economic Survey 2018-19, the working age population (20-59 years),
which contributed to 50.5% of overall population in 2011, is projected to increase to about
58.8% by 2031. This is likely to create implications on the required rate of job creation in the
country. In order to keep up with the demands of its young populace, India would have to
focus on education, skill development, innovation, productivity enhancement and
technology adaptation. According to the World Economic Forum’s report, ‘The Future of
Jobs, 2018’, more than half of Indian workers will require reskilling by 2022 to meet future
talent demands. The report also states that each of them will require an average of 100
extra days of learning.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda for 2030 highlights that
increasing the participation of women in workforce will be a key factor for global economies
to achieve future growth aspirations. Therefore, the government needs to follow a
comprehensive approach in boosting the women workforce of the country by addressing
challenges in skill development; providing access to right opportunities, better working
conditions and job security; and ensuring wage parity.

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 CHAPTER 3
EDUCATION
India holds an important place in the global education industry. India has one of the largest networks
of higher education institutions in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further
development in the education system. Moreover, the aim of the government to raise its current
gross enrolment ratio to 30 per cent by 2020 will also boost the growth of the distance education in
India.

With regards to the education, here are some trends that I strongly believe will impact the educational
climate in India:

Imparting Education through MOOCs

The ‘massive open online course’ (MOOC) is a revolutionary concept which is set to take root at an
unprecedented rate in the coming years. Students will increasingly embrace this mode of study, as it
delivers content at the place and time of their convenience. Students from remote locations can
attend sessions, and benefit from its flexibility.

Industry-led Courses
Industries that absorb the candidates will take the lead in training them as well. They will take initiative
to work closely with academia. Even in recent times, few conglomerated, business mammoths have
set up educational institutes as their ‘philanthropic initiative’. This is to cater not only to their own
human resource requirement as well as to contribute in an impactful manner within the ambit of their
industry.

As a result, industry leaders and professionals would come closer to academia, bridging the gap by
sharing real-time experiences with students, and providing them with first-hand opportunities for
exposure. Virtual simulations of workplaces shall be contextualized and placed before the students to
condense their learning. These can be complemented through online sessions for theoretical training,
which the students can access as per their convenience in a location-agnostic manner. Moreover, they
can also raise their queries and doubts in a democratic manner, thereby allowing everybody to get the
attention due to them in the learning process. Students will be able to drop their queries on forums
or raise them during live sessions, which the trainer, teaching assistants, or the peer-learning
community can help address.

The classroom learning model will evolve

Within the classroom, the emphasis will be on orientation, instruction, and training. There will be
fewer interruptions as students will streamline their doubts and questions to the virtual platforms,
where each talking point will be able to facilitate a discussion from different perspectives and in varied
depth.

Secondly, students will be able to focus on presenting their questions and answers in a more
thoughtful and effective way. This will encourage them to explore various media to support their
expression in ever-better ways, helping sharpen their creative acumen. In this practice, instructors will
also be able to crowdsource learning and instructional material, for instance, by archiving the best of
presentations, essays, and so forth, for the future batches.

Exciting times are ahead in global education sector, and it is up to Indian academicians, policy-makers,
and parents to pave the way for adopting it in the country’s scenario.

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 CHAPTER 4

AGRICULTURE SECTOR

“If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will go right in the country.”- M.S Swaminathan

India is amongst the world's leading food producers today, but has low yield rates despite
the green revolution. It is the second largest producer of rice and wheat in the world, but in
terms of yield, it is ranked 60th. The agriculture sector in India still suffers from issues such
as high dependency on monsoon, weak post-harvest infrastructure, low levels of agro
processing and high food wastage, which together adversely impact productivity levels. This
in turn explains why the contribution of the sector has declined to only 15 per cent of the
national output, in spite of the proportion of people depending on it still remaining at about
50 per cent. Income levels of farmers in India have remained significantly low.

Moreover, farm income levels have also been unstable, as they have mainly followed the
pattern of food production which has fluctuated over the years primarily on account of
varied rainfall received. The changing climate has made rainfall more erratic and
unpredictable in recent years and this has led to a substantial increase in cases of crop
failures and caused widespread agrarian distress.

METHODS FOR IMPROVISATION:

The agriculture sector is in dire need of transformation in terms of not only productivity
enhancement but also for creating a robust eco-system right from the production to the
consumption stage. This is critical for India's overall food security, better management of
food inflation, as well as to meet the government's target of doubling farm incomes, while
dealing with climate change.

Level of Mechanisation: Enhance level of mechanisation through adoption of Custom Hiring

Model. Under this model, a group of farmers like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) and
cooperatives purchase high-cost agricultural machinery which can be used by all farmers in
return of a fixed payment. Local manufacturing of small and low-end agri machineries
should be supported under the 'Make in India' initiative to restrain cost of production and
price of machineries to improve affordability. Adequate service centres should be
established in rural and remote areas to offer after-sales service.

Digital Technology: Encourage adoption of digital technology such as remote sensing (via
satellites), use of drones, GIS, etc. for sustainable farming. Unmanned aerial vehicles with
powerful cameras/drones can be used to assess the fertilisation status of crops. Sensor
network can be developed using smart technology for continuous monitoring of farms and
specifically the use of virtual fence technologies in livestock sector where movement of
livestock can be monitored with the use of remote sensing signals or sensors. It would
reduce the turnaround time to react or respond to different situations. Uptake of these
technologies would enable farmers to earn higher yields, reduce chances of crop failures
and earn higher and largely uniform returns.

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Weather Pattern Information: Provide real time information regarding weather patterns to
farmers using digital and mobile technology to help them take better and timely farming
related decisions and lower incidents of crop.

Agriculture R&D: Increase agriculture R&D to develop climate resilient and short-duration
high-yielding crop varieties which are helpful in raising cropping intensity.

Modern Farming Techniques: Encourage adoption of modern farming techniques such as

Organic Farming, Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) and Precision Farming
(an information and technology based farm management system to identify, analyse, and
manage variability within fields for optimum sustainability, profitability and protection of
the land resource).

Smart Irrigation: Encourage adoption of smart irrigation techniques such as micro-irrigation

or drip irrigation system which holds potential to double the yield using 50 per cent of the
water required with traditional methods and helps in increasing efficiency of other farm
inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and labour.

Cold Chain Infrastructure: Modern cold chains enabled with climate control technology can
help in reducing the rate of metabolism in harvested fruits and vegetables and extend the
shelf life of the produce. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be explored which allows
monitoring of a large basket of agro-commodities and micro manage their storage
environment remotely, with the use of sensors and other equipment.

Enhance Investment: Implement PPP based model for enhancing investments in agro supply
chain including development and modernization of storage facilities as well as grading and
standardization, quality certification.

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 CHAPTER 5

MANUFACTURING SECTOR

The manufacturing sector will play a key role in India’s development, as the nation grows
more urban and industrialised, by providing jobs to a broad spectrum of workers and
spurring income growth across different segments of the population. Shifting focus from
low- to high-tech industries will prove critical. Countries that have boosted their per capita
GDP have done so by making this shift.

In India, value-added manufacturing stands at 12% of GDP today.49 Our analysis shows that
value-added manufacturing can grow to 20% by 2024 and to greater than 25% in 2030 if
India can step up its manufacturing competitiveness.

Remove regulatory hurdles and focus on skills: For India to achieve its targets on the value-
added-manufacturing vector, it needs to first remove regulatory hurdles that have made
doing business in India difficult. That includes simplifying policies related to land, labour,
and the environment and providing single window clearances for obtaining business
permits. Strengthening manufacturing skills training will also prove crucial. For example, in
Germany, vocational education and training (VET) is seen as a pillar of the nation’s
education system. Two thirds of German youth undergo vocational training in both the
workplace and vocational schools. They receive broad-based (i.e. basic to advanced) training
and gain the skills and knowledge needed to practise a trade. Those completing the training
qualify for jobs in about 355 recognised occupations that require formal training.

Importing technology to strengthen manufacturing capabilities: Importing foreign

technology can help Indian manufacturers strengthen their capabilities. In the 1960s and
1970s, South Korea began enhancing its domestic manufacturing capabilities through
methods such as reverse engineering and foreign licencing. (See Figure 2.12.) At the same
time, the South Korean government and private sector invested in the capabilities needed
to absorb the new technology. Indian companies are making strides in this direction through
joint ventures, licence arrangements, and acquisitions. But they will need to step up the
pace to help the nation reach the vector target we’ve proposed. With the government’s

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help, business can do so by increasing investment in research and development (R&D), with
the goal of ultimately reducing dependence on technology imports.

Structural shifts in manufacturing: As Indian manufacturers shift their focus to high-tech

industries, they will need to invest in R&D and develop new technological skills. Our analysis
shows that the share of R&D in India’s GDP will have to grow from its current 0.8% to 2.4%
in 2034 to achieve the desired gains in value-added manufacturing.50 Global giants like
Toyota have invested heavily in R&D to reduce the lead time from design to production. For
example, Toyota’s central R&D labs have developed simulation models to predict the impact
of noise, wind, and other factors on automobile frames and to use the resulting insights to
design more robust frames. India needs to enhance such capabilities to “move the needle”
toward value-added manufacturing. However, this doesn’t mean that India should neglect
its low- and medium-technology industries. The bulk of job creation will happen in these
sectors. But in the short run, India needs to start exporting finished goods.

Digitization for manufacturing integrates processes: From product development and purchasing to
manufacturing, logistics, and service. The textile, metal fabrication, chemical, electronics,
composites, leather garment industries have been receiving a great fillip with technological
integration into their system.

Ground-breaking technologies for manufacturing sector include: Additive Manufacturing (3D

printing), Precision Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing, Multi-material construction, Adaptive
Automation, Micro-Nano Manufacturing, Embedded Flexible Electronics, Big Data in Bioactive
Molecule Discovery, Zero Emission, Noise-free & Odour-free Processes, Nano photonics, Genetic
Modulations, Water-less Processes, Modularity, De-materialization etc.

Few challenges which stand in the way of digitising manufacturing companies in India include lack of
digital operational vision, lack of data analytics skills, lack of strong digital culture and cybersecurity
breaches. Emerging economies like India have the advantage of excelling ahead of their counterparts
in developed economies, given their greenfield positions. By overcoming these above challenges,
India can reach its full potential and fulfil the objectives of digitization by 2030.

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 CHAPTER 6
SERVICES SECTOR
The services sector has been the largest contributor to India's GVA growth and is among the
biggest employment generator in the country. Information technology, banking and
financial services have been classic examples of high employment intensity service sectors
for India. Given our demographic profile as we continue to add millions to the workforce
every year; job creation persists to be one of the biggest challenges for the country.
The rapid disruptions in technology is opening new avenues in the services sector and has
the potential to create significant opportunities in both high skill and low skill-based jobs.
While we still need to fully leverage the potential of traditional service segments like
tourism, hospitality and logistics for job creation; new age sectors like e-commerce, service
aggregators are also very promising as far their employment generation capacity is
concerned.
Travel and Tourism: According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the number of
international arrivals increased from over 600 million in 2000 to 1.3 billion in 2017, and this
number is expected to touch 1.8 billion by 2030.

Retail and E-commerce: The retail sector has witnessed significant growth in India over the
past decade. Factors such as robust growth, expanding middle class, increase in
discretionary spend, favourable demographics - position India as one of the most promising
retail destinations. In fact, the latest AT Kearney Global Retail Development Index 2017
ranks India at the top position among top 30 developing countries for retail investments.
The total market size of the retail sector was valued at $795 billion in 2017, which is
forecasted to reach $1.2 trillion by 2021.
Logistics & Warehousing: Logistics and warehousing are the lifelines for any economy and
the sector is in fact one of the primary determinants of a country's industrial
competitiveness. Logistic costs in India have remained quite high and this has been one of
the key deterrents in positioning India as a global manufacturing hub. Estimates put India's

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logistics cost between 14 per cent of GDP compared to a ratio between 8-10 per cent for
countries like the US, Hong Kong and France. Furthermore, warehousing which constitutes
for about 25 per cent of the logistic costs is marred with significant issues in India. At
present, the warehousing segment is highly fragmented in India due to dominance of
unorganised players – the latter has a share of almost 90 per cent in the warehousing space.

Aggregator Services Sector: Technology has brought millions of consumers to the virtual
world of online shopping. And this online channel has not only created a remarkable avenue
for the sale of a whole gamut of goods/merchandise products but also for a huge range of
services. The emergence of online applications like AirBnB (hospitality), Ola, Uber (taxis),
Instacart (groceries) has changed the way people are availing traditional services – resulting
in an exponential growth in the 'on-demand services' segment.
A study by PwC projects the global revenue from the 5 key sharing services sectors
(automotive, hospitality, finance, staffing and media streaming) is likely to reach $335 billion
The aggregator service platform, though is relatively new in India, it is already witnessing
mammoth growth and more significantly is successfully creating millions of jobs. With the
requirement of minimal investments, it has opened up a huge channel for individuals to
capitalise on their skills and come forth as first time entrepreneurs. It has given a new lease
of life to the idea of self-employment in the year 2025.

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 CHAPTER 7
HEALTH SECTOR
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”- Mahatma Gandhi
India is underspending hugely on health (public spending just over one per cent of GDP) and
education (under 3 per cent of GDP). Fast-growing East Asian economies spent far more to
build the human capital foundation for growth. India has expanded education but still
remains behind others and the quality of education is abysmal. Improving the pupil-teacher
ratio is vital and will require hiring more teachers and thereby creating jobs. It's a win-win.
India has two million unfilled jobs in the public sector. That could be used to hire more
teachers and health workers. As India raises more revenue from the GST – which has also
improved direct tax collection – it should use the fiscal space created to invest more in
health and education.
Budget allocation: The healthcare market is estimated to reach $ 372 billion by 2022, states
the IBEF report. Moreover, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is planning to further
enhance its healthcare budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The Indian Government has also
developed a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targeted to be achieved by 2030.This is
an attempt to ensure health, end poverty and ensure prosperity and peace for the people.
As part of this agenda, one of the SDGs focusses strongly on health. It aims to promote the
healthy living and well-being for people of all age groups by eradicating all forms of
malnutrition and achieving universal access to safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.
Private health care: On the private healthcare front, analysts anticipate a surge in
investments. The rising adoption of digital technologies, automation and more will be the
key drivers for growth. Express Healthcare 20th anniversary special issue ‘Healthcare 2030
and beyond’ looks at various aspects that will enable India progress on the world health
map. It will cover trends shaping the future healthcare landscape to attain sustainable
health systems; emerging technologies; new age healthcare and medical education news,
new research requirements, environmental health issues, integration of healthcare services;
health financing, economics and insurance; patient-based care and empowering the patient
and new models of care.

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 CHAPTER 8
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology
transactions in the world. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Department of Science &
Technology, has reiterated that technology is a strong priority area for the government and
it aims to make people science-centric. Modern India has had a strong focus on science and
technology, realising that it is a key element of economic growth.
India has already started to undergo a technological transformation. Its population has
moved along an exponential technology curve from barely any connectivity in 2014 to being
the second most connected nation in the world, with 560 million internet users, as of this
year, surpassed only by China. This technology penetration and connectivity was enabled by
the increase the country has seen in smartphone users, from 86 million five years ago to 450
million today.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: By 2030 cities are likely to rely heavily on AI technologies to
detect and predict crime. Automatic processing of CCTV and drone footage will make it
possible to rapidly spot anomalous behaviour. This will not only allow law enforcement to
react quickly but also forecast when and where crimes will be committed. Fears that bias
and error could lead to people being unduly targeted are justified, but well-thought-out
systems could actually counteract human bias and highlight police malpractice. Techniques
like speech and gait analysis could help interrogators and security guards detect suspicious
behaviour. Contrary to concerns about overly pervasive law enforcement, AI is likely to
make policing more targeted and therefore less overbearing.
The line between the classroom and individual learning will be blurred by 2030. Massive
open online courses (MOOCs) will interact with intelligent tutors and other AI technologies
to allow personalized education at scale. Computer-based learning won’t replace the
classroom, but online tools will help students learn at their own pace using techniques that
work for them.AI-enabled education systems will learn individuals’ preferences, but by
aggregating this data they’ll also accelerate education research and the development of new
tools. Online teaching will increasingly widen educational access, making learning lifelong,
enabling people to retrain, and increasing access to top-quality education in developing
countries.
Sophisticated virtual reality will allow students to immerse themselves in historical and
fictional worlds or explore environments and scientific objects difficult to engage with in the
real world. Digital reading devices will become much smarter too, linking to supplementary
information and translating between languages.
Entertainment in 2030 will be interactive, personalized, and immeasurably more engaging
than today. Breakthroughs in sensors and hardware will see virtual reality, haptics and
companion robots increasingly enter the home. Users will be able to interact with
entertainment systems conversationally, and they will show emotion, empathy, and the
ability to adapt to environmental cues like the time of day

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DATA ANALYTICS: With India expecting to see 1.5 lakh new job openings in data science in
the year 2020, which is an increase of about 62% from the previous year, data-analytics is
expected to radically change the way we live and do business in the future. Already today
we use the analytics in our technology devices, for many decisions in our lives. Not only how
to drive from A to B and avoid traffic-jams, but also to identify waste in business processes
with the help of Lean six sigma optimization projects.
The known data analytics development cycle is described in stages: from descriptive to
diagnostic, to discovery, to predictive and, finally, to prescriptive analytics. In general,
organizations currently find themselves in the diagnostic and discovery stages.
BLOCK CHAIN: With India’s increasing focus towards digitization, the scope of Block chain in
India only seems to be growing. The best feature of Block chain is that it operates on a
decentralized database, thereby making all transactions transparent, seamless, and highly
secure. Apart from financial transactions, Block chain tech can be leveraged in other areas
as well.
 To protect intellectual property rights – With Block chain, content creators and
publishers can track and protect their ownership and intellectual property rights by
making the origin data transparent on the Block chain network. This will also help
prevent piracy or misuse of intellectual property. 
 To store files securely – Since files or data is not stored on a single, centralized
ledger, but is distributed on multiple networks and systems, it becomes impossible
to hack or violate the stored data. In Block chain each block contains an encrypted
hash code without which the data cannot be accessed. 
 To impart transparency in Administration – Block chain technology can be used to
make elections or other polls transparent. By automating the process with smart
contracts and making the results publicly accessible and transparent, the poll process
can be devoid of corruption.
 To crowdsource VC funds – Block chain frameworks (like Ethereum) can allow
individuals to purchase tokens and choose capital investments, thereby encouraging
direct cooperation and collaboration between the public and enterprises. 

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 CHAPTER 9
ENERGY SECTOR
Over the years, India has recorded impressive rates of growth which leads to ambitious aims
for the future. However, a healthy rate of economic growth equalling or exceeding the
current rate of 5% per annum would require major provision of infrastructure and enhanced
supply of input such as energy. High economic growth would create much larger demand for
energy and this would present the country with a variety of choices in terms of supply
possibilities. Currently, India generates about 1.2 trillion kWh of electricity annually which
divides it to roughly 1000 kWh per person. This is comparatively lower than other
developing countries like China, Sri Lanka etc. This statistic indicates the huge unmet
demand for electricity that still exists in India. Add to this the fact that we are the fastest-
growing large economy, and we may be looking at having to double our energy output by
2030 in order to sustain this pace of growth. While this calls for steps to augment the power
sector’s capacity, we cannot afford to go down the traditional carbon-spewing fossil fuel-
driven growth path.
Globally there is now an increased awareness of the havoc that climate change and rising
pollution can cause. Every country must cut back its carbon emission levels and India is no
exception. Looking ahead, therefore, renewable energy emerges as an obvious alternative.
India must strive to transform its energy mix and ensure that a majority of the additional
capacity comes from renewable sources.
Some studies show that with adequate technological advancement, generating electricity
from renewable sources will be less expensive than its counterpart. Therefore, technology
would be an important element of future energy strategy for the country as India has a
plethora of natural resources to be used for energy generation.
Methods for improvisation –

 Use of natural gas – Natural gas has a high end-use efficiency which makes it a
cleaner and a relatively much easier fuel to use when compared to coal. Natural gas
is also cheaper to extract and contributes miniscule amounts of CO2.

 Use of Hydro & Nuclear power – With a huge coastline and a plethora of rivers, India
should tap into hydro power plants in order to generate electricity. Similarly, efforts
can be made to improve the production capacity of nuclear power plants up to 100
GW.

 Re-energising the transport sector – Since 70% of the imported petroleum goes into
transport, efforts can be pushed to reduce/mitigate the use of petroleum by doing
the following:
1) Enhancing the share of public transportation, promoting MRTS (Mass
Rapid Transit System),

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 2) Ensuring better connectivity of trains to urban areas of the cities,
introducing high capacity buses, and so on.
3) Electrifying the railway tracks to the maximum extent possible.
4) Increasing the share of rail in freight movement by enhancing
container movement and providing door-to-door delivery systems.
5) Introducing Bharat-III norms across the country for road-based
personal vehicles
6) Introducing cleaner fuels such as low sulphur diesel, ethanol blending,
and bio-diesel.

 Reduction of transmission/distribution losses by utilising very high-voltage AC

transmission and HVDC (high-voltage DC transmission) and energy-efficient
transformers that use high-grade steel in the transformer core to reduce hysterical
losses

Challenges ahead-

 Oil Dependence – Oil is a fossil fuel that is used in almost all spheres of life. It is
cheap and easy to utilise for various energy sources however it causes adverse
effects to the climate via global warming and must hence be reduced. India’s oil
import comprises of nearly 50% of its total imports and reducing oil can therefore
not only improve the balance of trade of India but can also reduce global warming.

 Lack of technological support – Although the government of India is doing its best in
promoting the use of renewable sources of energy by offering subsidies and tax
benefits, it still isn’t enough to fully support the technological advancements made
towards harnessing renewable energy. Lack of research & development could delay
towards the progress of cleaner energy.

 Temporary unemployment – There will be a time gap for the workers to get
acclimatized to newer technology revolving renewable energy. This could lead to
temporary unemployment to over a million people thus affecting the GDP of India.

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 REFERENCE
 https://www.cbre.co.in/en/research-reports
 http://ficci.in/spdocument/23058/Envisioning-India-2030-web.pdf
 https://www.weforum.org/
 https://www.livemint.com/
 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
 https://www.ibef.org/

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