How are Environment, Human Development and Economic Growth Related in India?
The current study attempts to analyze the relationships among Environmental Quality (EQ), Human Development and Economic Growth for 14 major Indian States for two periods: Period A (1990–1996) and Period B (1997–2004). For both the sub-periods, 63 environmental indicators have been clustered under eight broad environmental groups to create an overall index of EQ using the HDI methodology. The EQ ranks of the States exhibit variation over time, implying that environment has both spatial and temporal dimensions. Ranking of the States across different environmental criteria (groups) show that different States possess different strengths and weaknesses in managing various aspects of EQ. The paper concludes that individual States should adopt environmental management practices based on their local (at the most disaggregated level) environmental information.
