Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated the Indian Institute of Sustainability (IIS) at Gujarat University campus in Ahmedabad and appealed to start-up enthusiasts and innovators to focus on making the innovations resource-light, thereby making the economy sustainable.

In order to practice and monitor sustainable economic practices, Kumar suggested creating a matrix – Gross Environment Product (GEP) – that will assess the extent of the environment conserved during the course of other economic activities that contribute to the country’s GDP.

“From the GDP, when we subtract what we have used up of the environment or natural capital, we should get the GEP. This is something waiting to be done. You can be the first among the world,” said Kumar in his address to the students and entrepreneurs at the Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) on Tuesday. “It will do the country and the world a big favour,” he added, asking those working on sustainability to think differently and out of the box but in line with “our own tradition and civilisation.”

He stressed upon the need to make the economy use minimal and not maximum natural resources. Referring to the scarcity theory of economics, Kumar stated that the definition of economics, as a science of limited means and unlimited demand, should be changed to a science of limited means but of rational demand.

IPCC report

Kumar’s comments came in context of the climate change concerns highlighted in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

He cautioned the youth to not fall prey to a “consumerist culture, which thrives by showing off how much you consume. Time has come to show off, how much you conserve.”

“Use and throw was not our culture. Our culture has been a circular economy with no waste. And that’s the only way forward for us,” said Kumar referring to the IPCC report as a warning to mankind to save Mother Earth just in time.

“We can’t go along with the business as usual,” he said, raising concerns of a disaster waiting to happen.

Statement of intent

At the event, NITI Aayog and Gujarat University signed a statement of intent to encourage and promote cooperation in the areas of agriculture and allied sectors.

Kumar also launched IIS’s new MBA programme in agri-preneurship and value-chain management in the presence of Gujarat’s Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Gujarat University’s Vice Chancellor, Himanshu Pandya.

Also see: NITI Aayog releases North Eastern Region District SDG Index and Dashboard

Earlier in the day, the Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman paid a visit to Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and held meetings with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and senior officials of the State government.

On Wednesday, Kumar is scheduled to visit the Statue of Unity at Kevadia before heading back to Delhi.