Modeling sustainable development: India ' s strategy for the future

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the relation among the various enablers of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to know their degree of dependence and driving power. As there has been non-agreement among the various stakeholders regarding the benefits of sustainability brought about by CDM, this paper explores the viability of sustainable development in the Indian scenario.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper discusses a model to address the issues of sustainable development in the context of CDM. An interpretive structural model (ISM) has been used to model the various parameters of sustainable development in the Indian context. The relevant parameters have been considered as per the existing literature review.

Findings

The result shows that sustainable development is achievable if the nation emphasizes on strategic goals and mission because sustainable development is driven by the strategic parameters such as “employment creation” and “long-term economic goals”.

Research limitations/implications

The ISM model developed is not statistically validated, therefore structural equation modeling (SEM), also commonly known as the linear structural relationship approach, may be used to test the validity of such a hypothetical model.

Practical implications

The government of India has to emphasize on education and inclusive employment to improve the quality of life, which would enable the sustainable development to be achieved.

Originality/value

This paper describes one of the few empirical studies conducted in India.

Citation

Singh, R. and Mitra Debnath, R. (2012), "Modeling sustainable development: India ' s strategy for the future", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 120-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/20425941211244270