Environmental Regulations and Compliance in India

In the last two and a half decades, India witnessed a rise in the scale of economic activities. The growth rate of per capital income was 1.7% per annum during the period of 1951–1980 and increased to about 7% in 2006–2007. The incidence of poverty (population below the poverty line) has declined from about 51% in the 1970s to about 27% in 2004–2005. India has also succeeded in reducing infant mortality and in increasing school enrollments. However, challenges remain in areas such as child malnutrition, primary and secondary education completion rates, maternal mortality, and gender balance in education and health. The resurgence of tuberculosis and the threat of HIV/AIDS are also a cause for concern. Degradation of the environment is a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to reduction of poverty, hunger, and disease. Therefore, the problem is more acute in low-income countries like India that are struggling for “development” and focusing on increasing levels of economic activity on one side while on the other side facing the negative impacts of degraded environmental quality.