Pratyaksh Khajuria
Development and Sustainable Development : Due to the influence of technology, our lifestyle has changed and turned in to a better one. Today our living standards are increasing day by day (and so the demand is). On comparing the lifestyle of our ancestors with our current lifestyle one can define Development as “the process of increase in the living standards of people and advancement and modernization of society”. Today our country is the fastest developing country in the world. Over the ages Governments have done various things for the development of the nation. Our former Prime Minister Shri Rajeev Gandhi Ji dreamed every Indian family to have their own car. But one would like to ask a question. If the dream is achieved, then who will provide continuous supply of fuel to run those cars? When such kinds of situation arise, where consumers are more but resources are limited the concept of Sustainable Development comes into play. The most famous definition of Sustainable Development was given by G.H.Brundtland former P.M of Norway and Director of W.H.O. According to him Sustainable Development is defined as “meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs”.
Why Sustainable development : Today, the energy-water-food nexus underscores the global challenge that we face as a society. The increasing global population, industrialization and urbanization pose serious stress to our energy, water and food supplies. Unsustainable Development, extreme weather conditions and impact of climate change only intensify these pressures.
According to UN for a population that could top 10 Billion by 2050, in the next 15 to 20 years, we will need 30% more water, 45% more energy and 50% more food. Shortage of resources could cause social and political instability, geopolitical conflicts and irreparable environment damage. Any strategy that focuses on one part of the water-food-energy nexus without considering its interconnections, risks serious unintended consequences.
So there is now every reason to ensure adherence to the definition of Sustainable Development, which ” while meeting the needs of the present generation, should also ensure that the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs is not compromised. Indeed, resource efficient growth and development would ensure that the Earth’s scare resources are not plundered and damaged to compromise on the welfare of the future generations”.
ICT and sustainable development : Waste Management: Few years ago the scenario was that, if someone brought something new, say an Air Conditioner then the old cooler was dumped into the store room. With passage of time that cooler (or other house hold item) was damaged due to lack of maintenance and was finally thrown outside and hence solid waste was generated. But today web portals like OLX and QUIKER provides us easy accessible platform to sell and purchase used things. Therefore ITC helps in solid waste management, e-waste management and reduces environmental pollution. Also provides the owner a good considerable amount of his goods.
Generating Mass Awareness: The most important aspect of ICT is that, it generates mass awareness towards various Issues.
Sharing Resources: ITC helps in sharing resources beyond national borders. For example: our country has a lot of natural resources which have not been yet utilized up to their full potential till date. Therefore by establishing communication with foreign investors, the Government of India invites investors from various developed nations to exploit our resources with a promise to help in proper utilization of resources and setting a powerful global market having its roots in India. This will generate employment and will boost our economy. In turn ICT can effectively assist international economic integration, improve living standards, narrow the digital divide, and improve biodiversity utilization and management.
Disaster Management: With the help of ICT, disaster prone areas can be identified where appropriate action can be taken to reduce the loss. Also disasters like Floods, Cyclones etc can be predicted well in advance. Remote sensing data can be effectively used for obtaining real time information on areas affected by disasters. Further the data can be utilized for obtaining quantitative estimates of the damage to infrastructure and property.
Site Selection: Geographic Information System can help in the selection of optimum highway or railway routes, dam or reservoir sites, waste disposal sites, major industrial sites etc, that can cause minimal disturbance to the ecosystem.
ITC Literacy: ITC are now exerting considerable pressure on the orthodox structure of the education system in many countries including India. Many countries are now advocating for a review of their curricula to facilitate infusion of ICT from early stages of education through to tertiary levels. Distance education has been further enhanced with modern ICT systems and structures. ICT have also enhanced linkages between training institutions at regional, national and international levels. Most universities now operate elaborate campus wide area networks and have gateways to other similar institutions facilitating collaboration and exchange of research and development information.
ICT as a Sector: ICT are enablers for economic growth because of their crosscutting nature thus affecting all sectors. Adoption and proper utilization of ICTs will lead, among others, to increased yields and quality production of goods and services. It is now a fact as evidenced by developments from various countries that ICT as a sector can contribute immensely to the national GDP of a nation and that ICT, acting as an enabler, can result in improved market competitiveness of a nation’s product and services. ICTs can impact positively on governance and other sectors of the economy. ICT industry can be resourced, properly managed and mainstreamed into a significant contributor to GDP.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel