The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Saturday cautioned that energy and water are among the major challenges that India would face in achieving a high growth rate in the 12th Plan period.

Rising energy prices

Delivering the platinum jubilee commemorative oration for Indian Overseas Bank, Dr Ahluwalia said that rising energy prices showed no signs of coming down. He said India was dependent on imports for petroleum, and was becoming dependent on them for coal, too. The prices of these two commodities would only rise, and in sympathy, the prices of fertilisers would also rise.

Similarly, the water-usage pattern in India, he noted, was unsustainable. Giving an example, he said in water-scarce Maharashtra, 60 per cent of the water resources were used on 3 per cent of land — to cultivate sugarcane.

In India, only 30 per cent of sewage is treated, the rest goes waste.

Both in the areas of energy and water, the “good news” is that there is huge scope for saving.

He also mentioned that the cost of solar energy would come down to competitive levels, and it was necessary to harness that source of clean energy.

Macro economic management

Dr Ahluwalia mentioned ‘macro economic management' — mainly, tackling fiscal deficit — raising agricultural productivity and management of urbanisation as the other major challenges for growth in the next plan period.

He noted that India would end the 11th Plan period with an average annual growth of 8.2 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent in the 10{+t}{+h} Plan, “which is not bad at all given that there were two very difficult years during the period”, he said.

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