The second issue is that India's infrastructure, including its ability to meet its energy needs, must improve. Without the pipes, the wires, the connectivity, the transport, the educational institutions, and the healthcare, India will struggle to achieve the next stage of development.
None of this will be cheap or easy. For India to enjoy truly sustainable growth and prosperity, and to successfully compete for global capital, very substantial investment in the national infrastructure is essential. Funding this investment may require new kinds of public-private partnerships, but urgent action is needed here too.
Development, of course, has costs measured in energy usage. Climate change is a reality and many of its consequences will be visited on India and its neighbors.
Therefore, the challenge will be to put in motion a transition to lower-carbon energy systems without undermining economic and social development.
Expectations for per-capita energy and water use, as well as waste generation, are not sustainable. If India continues on its current path, then energy demand will double by 2030. The shortage of water in urban India is already a major problem and it is likely to get worse. The cost of energy is already very high and supply is erratic and unreliable.
Most critically, India's energy needs will be mostly met by imports. This raises serious questions about the security of the energy supply. It also lends support to the rationale for India to end its nuclear isolation and engage the world in civilian nuclear cooperation. By 2030 India will have overtaken Japan as the world's third largest net importer of oil, after the US and China.
The cost is not trivial. It is likely to be in the region of $1.25 trillion in energy infrastructure between today and 2030. Building a robust nuclear energy programme in India -- provided India joins with the other 45 nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to access technology and fuel -- will address global warming. It will also allow some of these costs to be transferred to areas of the Indian economy where investment is so badly needed, such as clean water and public health.
Image: Mumbai, which the Maharashtra government, wants to brand as one of the great financial destinations in the world, is struggling to improve its infrastructure. One of the solutions proposed to reduce the traffic nightmares in India's commercial capital is a sea link connecting the city's Mahim and Worli areas. The bridge will be ready for traffic early next year. Photograph: Hindustan Construction Company
Also see:
Who will ride India's 'Next Wave'?
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