India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in conjunction with IIT-Delhi, surveyed 88 industrial clusters across the country, and found 43 “critically polluted” (with scores above 70 on a 100-point scale) while 32 were “severely polluted” (scores 60-70).
India is a newly industrialized country, wherein the transition from agriculture-based growth to industry-based development happened only post-independence (after 1947), and since then, industrialization has played a major role in the country’s modernization and socio-economic development. Though agriculture and allied sectors still account for 16.1% of the GDP, the share of industries has gone up to 28.6% while services sector accounts for 55.3% share in GDP. Industries are now a backbone to the country’s economy, bringing about rapid socio-economic development and significant lifestyle changes for its people.
Industrialization in India
Since Independence to 1980: There was restrictive growth of private sector in India during this period, since it required government’s permission to set-up private enterprises. There were very few producers of industrial goods, most of which were consumed domestically, which led to monopoly in their pricing. On top of that, there were immediate pressing concerns like poverty and other related issues, like famine, illiteracy, etc., which lowered the country’s economic growth. So while the rest of the world flourished and grew through international trade, Indian economy lagged behind with GDP growth rate of only 1.4% per annum during 1940-1970.
From 1980 to Mid-1990s: Liberalization happened in India in eighties and gained impetus by mid-1991. The country experienced historical upsurge in per capita GNP. In 1994-95, the industrial output registered 8.4% growth and India’s exports rose by 27%.
From 1990s to 2000s: Under the newly formulated liberalization policy, India started several public-sector enterprises during this period. The private sector, neglected by previous governments, also benefited from liberalization, caused by the shift of the state’s responsibility from a chief investor to a catalyst of private enterprise. India’s exports saw a 17% rise in 1994 and 28% in 1995-96. Over 90% of India’s imports were backed by export revenues. At present, the current account arrears is less than 1% of GDP and foreign-exchange profits are soaring at $ 20 billion. The food stocks have witnessed an all-time increase of 37 million tonnes.
Experts believe that the contribution of India in the world GDP is estimated to increase from 6% to 11% by the year 2025, while on the flip side, the contribution of U.S. in world GDP is presumed to decline from 21% to 18%. This indicates the emergence of India as the third biggest global economy after U.S. and China. This evaluation is supported by the overall development in all sectors in India, with INDUSTRY being a key sector.
Major Industries in India
- Textile Industry
- Food Processing Industry
- Chemical Industry
- Cement Industry
- Steel Industry
- Software Industry
- Mining Industry
- Petroleum Industry
But when industrialization took root in India, little did anyone know that the industries, which were proving to be a boon to quite a large number of people, would also spread their deadly tentacles and engulf the environment, eventually becoming a major cause of air, water and land pollution.
Industrial Pollution
Pollution means an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, water or soil of any area/region which in turn may either have a harmful affect on life or may pose a potential hazard to environment and surroundings. Industrial pollution is pollution which can be directly linked with industry, in contrast to other pollution sources. This form of pollution is one of the leading causes of pollution worldwide; in the United States, for example, the Environmental Protective Agency (US EPA) estimates that up to 50% of the nation’s pollution is caused by industry.
Industrial survey statistics tell that more than one-third (36.3 per cent) of the total value added by the raw materials through manufacture in the factory sector of the country comes from Maharashtra (23.66 per cent) and Gujarat (12.64 per cent), easily making them the two most industrialized states of India. Governments of both the states claim they have created immense prosperity in the region. But statistics do not tell the real story of thousands of workers, farmers and general population, who suffer at the hands of pollution created by the industries while creating this prosperity.
The contribution of industries towards pollution is clearly understood in current times, and though all industries impact the environment negatively in significant measure, pollution is much higher in case of thermal power plants, open cast mining, chemical and fertilizer factories, manufacturing of bicycles and diesel engines.
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