IISER MOHALI

Abstract: The mainstream economics being based on profit maximization denies environmental degradation as a barrier to economic development and social welfare. It argues that free market forces operate automatically to correct those barriers. This is very well propounded by Kuznets inverted U-shaped curve explaining the relationship between environmental degradation and economic development. But environmental experts and scientists have challenged this proposition on the grounds of depletion of non-renewable resources and difficulties/constraints in finding out their substitutes by discoveries of science and technology. The first such challenge came from Club of Rome which came out in the form of a book titled "Limits to Growth" published in 1969. This was followed by a series of reports on the state of the world environment by UNDP. This has resulted in the Paris Accord on climate change in 2016. The phenomenon of global warming and its negative impact on the economy and all forms of life is generally accepted now. It is in this context that economic development in Punjab is being discussed in this lecture. For intensive discussion, a special emphasis is made on depletion of quantity and deterioration of water quality in the state. The discussion is divided into three parts: The first part will deal with economic theory and environment; the second part examines Punjab's development experience and environmental changes; and the last part will examine the future of economic development in harmony with the environment to produce sustainable development.

About the speaker: Sucha Singh Gill is a retired Professor and Head of the Department of Economics, Punjabi University Patiala. He is a former Director General of Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh (2010-14). He has served on many committees of the Government of India and the Government of Punjab. He was elected the annual conference President of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE) in 2011. He has written and edited several books, published many research papers in reputed journals, and contributed popular articles in the leading newspapers, both in English and Punjabi. His latest book, "Issues of Punjab's Water Resources" (in Punjabi) was published in 2025.