In the last 30 years of India’s Liberalisation, while we have experienced economic growth, industrial boom, and enhanced foreign exchange, the country’s environment has suffered greatly. Vidyut Mohan, a 30-year-old environmentalist from an engineering background, pointed out that Liberalisation in India has largely been unregulated from an environmental perspective. Therefore, industrial wastes have polluted our rivers for years, while smoke emission from factories and manufacturing plants have corrupted the air quality of the country.
Mohan has been recognized as one of United Nations’ Young Champions of the Earth. He was an Echoing Green Fellow in 2019, and in 2020 Forbes named him one of the 30 Under 30 awardees. He is the co-founder and CEO of Takachar, a social enterprise that helps farmers earn money by converting farm waste into value-added chemicals.
In an interview to News18.com Mohan said, “Liberalisation was necessary, but it wasn’t sufficient. When we became a liberalised economy, what we adopted were the worst practices of the west. We just replicated their model in India.”
“For example, many industries that were polluting in the west, and were catering to the supply chain economy shifted to India as soon as trade and setting up businesses became less restricted in our country. Mainly because it became cheaper to produce in India while environment-related regulations became more stringent in the west, and, that led to massive pollution where ever these industries were located,” pointed out Mohan.
However, unlike climate activist Greta Thunberg, who believes that climate change can only be addressed if we revert to a ‘pre-industrial world, with no room for innovation or progress, Vidyut thinks it is the technology that holds the key to deal with environmental issues. Mohan said that one of the most important ways to solve climate change is to invest in tech-based Research and Development, which will lead to cleaner technology.
“The most effective way of solving climate change is to lead a simpler life. However, that is an aspect of behavioural change, which will take time and societal commitment. Apart from that, the only other way of mitigating climate change is through technology. We use technology for practically everything, to produce energy, to manufacture, to transport ourselves from one place to another, therefore, if we can innovate more sustainable technology, we can lead our lives, without hurting the environment,” he said.
“However, for people to have the space to innovate such technology, they need capital, and that capital has to come from the Government. It cannot come from investors. India’s budget should accommodate technological innovation which will be beneficial for the environment,”added Mohan.
Mohan said that in the US, for instance, if someone has an innovative idea that is competitive in nature, he/she will get government funding to develop the concept from the initial prototype to commercialisation. “The Indian government too needs to spend on R&D. However, just spending on public R&D isn’t enough, private enterprises can also come out with great solutions if they have government funding,” he added.
Mohan said that as far as India’s renewable energy sector is concerned, he felt that India is doing a great job in large- and small-scale solar system deployment. “It started with private enterprises, with start-ups taking the initiatives to produce solar energy. The Government took over in the early 2000s and really encouraged the adoption of solar energy. In recent years, the Government has also created new incentives and publicity for it to thrive,” he said.
“Moving forward, I think net metering should be incorporated in all states as well. More budgetary allocation in the distribution infrastructure of renewable energy will also help,” Mohan added.
Mohan said that from an environmental standpoint, the government needs to allocate more budget to enforcement agencies and make them competitive and capable of holding industrialists accountable. “I see various bodies like the municipal corporation, the pollution board and several other environment agencies, which are really well-intentioned but understaffed and underskilled in respect to dealing with the challenges of Climate Change. So, it is important to empower and support them so that industries can be better regulated,” he concluded.
Editor’s note: Children of Liberalisation’ is a News18 series tracking the Union Budget expectations from 30-year-olds across different sectors, from the prism of 30 years of economic liberalisation in India.
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