Development Topics

Hydropower: Severe power shortages are seriously hindering India’s development. Yet, only 30 percent of the country's hydropower potential  has been harnessed so far. When developed in accordance with good environmental and social practices, hydropower plants produce renewable and clean energy and, once established, have long and productive lives. More >>>

Urban Challenges: India’s towns and cities have expanded rapidly. However, a quarter of all urban residents live in slums and towns and cities face critical power, water, and infrastructure shortages as well as a rapidly deteriorating environment. Urban areas are beset by poor local governance, inappropriate planning, and weak finances. With urban populations set to rise in the wake of continuing rural-urban migration, dealing with India’s growing urban challenges has become a strategic policy matter. More>>>

Malnutrition: India has the world's largest child development program. Yet, the prevalence of underweight children is nearly double that of Sub - Saharan Africa, and among the highest in the world. This is mainly because the program has placed priority on supplementing food rather than on nutrition and health education, and mostly targets children after the age of three when malnutrition has set in. More>>>

Women's and Children's Health: Every year 2.4 million children and about 136,000 women die unnecessarily in India. This is about one fifth of the global total. India’s National Rural Health Mission, launched in April 2005, has a strong commitment to reduce maternal and infant mortality and provide universal access to public health services, the delivery of which is extremely complex and involves a host of public and private, local and international players. More>>>

Water: A severe water crisis looms ahead for India unless the country changes the way it manages water and changes it soon. India’s dams can only store small amounts of its fickle rainfall and its groundwater is rapidly depleting. Estimates reveal that by 2020, India’s demand for water will exceed all sources of supply. More>>>

Transport: While India's growing economy has witnessed a rise in demand for transport infrastructure and services by around 10 percent a year, the sector has not been able to keep pace and is proving to be a drag on the economy. Major improvements are required. More>>>

The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is an ambitious road and rail renewal plan which seeks to improve transportation in the traffic-choked mega-city of Mumbai. More>>>