+ An Overview ‘The ultimate purpose of development is to provide increasing opportunities to all people for a better life to bring about a more equitable distribution of income and wealth. for promoting both social justice and efficiency of production, to raise substantially, the level of employment, to achieve a: sreater degree of income security, toexpand and to improve facilities for education, health, nutrition, housing, and social welfare and to safe guard the environment. —The United Nations Generally Assembly Resolution (1970) The challenge of development, in the broadest sense, is to improve the quality of life. ‘ ~The World Development Report (1991) issue for debate and discussion in the developed as’well as developing countries after the Second World War, Countries that got independence from the colonial rule after the Second World War were reeling under various maladies of underdevelopment, eg. poverty, illiteracy, mortality, morbidity, insanitation, poor access to safe drinking water, unsafe housing and lack of electricity and road communication. It was because of their maladies that these nations were’ ‘largely branded as ‘underdeveloped’, ‘less devel- oped’, ‘developing’ and ‘Third World’ ‘nations by their counterparts—the developed nations of the West. Since then, ‘everybody—be it parliamentarians, legislatures, econo- mists, political scientists, sociologists, developmental activists or even the common men in the political economy of developing countries—has been frequently using the term ‘development’. Politicians are more frequently using the term during their election cam- paigns in order to win the election and common men are uttering the term with a hope that the development measures to be taken by the government will improve their quality of living. ; usp Kk The sordid condition of development in many developing countries ‘of Asia, Africa and Latin America has attracted the attention of the developed countries to conduct stud ies and invest resources for the development of the underdeveloped countries. Many developed nations are also investing their resources for the development of developing countries through bilateral and multilateral agencies, e.g. World Bank, UNDP, WHO, UNESCO, JICA, CIDA and so on, Even after a lot of endeavours put in by the developed countries, the multilateral and bilateral organizations and ‘developing countries them- selves, the condition of underdevelopment is enduring in many developing countries of the world, This divulges the elasticity and complexity of the term ‘development’ and the Ts concept ‘development’ has become an important subject of study and a vital is2 Issues and Challenges of Development hieve it. Sha ncessant search of approptiate processes and strategies to ac nmugaratn iis rightly remarked, ‘Put simply, it ls the failure Gs ae is Bacay regarded as ‘n development processes” to change the conditions of large numbers of People for the bet that compels tis to ponder the meaning of development i Bee teh 2001) It is not a flight of fancy, but truly, the term ‘developmen cont lered to be vey simple in common parlance is, however, one of the complex pee from the Petspe, tives of developing countries to be defined comprehensively an precisely to unive titistaction, Castigation of one political party by the other during the election campaigy far several decades through questions such as ‘what development you have done durin your tenure’ and highlighting people’s unhappiness with the performance of the govern ment clearly led us to conclude that ‘developmeng’ is one of the most bewildering terms and a relatively ceaseless process, at least in developing countries. Unlike economic growth, it is very difficult to concretely measure achievements made in development Even if a government takes a lot of development policy measures, all of them are not foand to be translated into practice because of poor development governance. There are a lot of gaps between the development policies and practice. Because the dimensions, Variables and indicators of development are multiple and the level of achievement with Tegard to different indicators varies actoss the countries, itis very difficult to define the concept of ‘development’ to universal satisfaction and measure it with precision. To quote the Brandt Commission (1980), ‘{Dlevelopment never will be and never can be defined to ‘universal satisfaction.’ It can be rightly remarked that development, like beauty, lies inthe eyes of the beholder and there is too much exclusivity attached to it. Therefore, it canbe stated that ‘development is what development means’. For an impoverished person, development may mean fulfilment of basic human needs such as food, clothing and she ter; for a rich person, it may mean availability of a better quality of life facilities such as 24 hour electricity, good market complexes, quality education and health care instity tions, good quality roads and so on; and for a developing nation, it may mean abolition of poverty, unemployment and inequalities, provision of good quality infrastructur, good governance with zero, corruption. and so on. World Bank in.its write-up ‘What is Development?’ has rightly envisaged that ‘different countries have different priorities in their development policies. But to compare their deyelopment levels you would first have to make of your mind about what development really means to you, what it is supposed to achieve.” eae oe j Despite the complexity of the definition of development, the multiplicity of its dime sions and its relativities, it is one of the spiciest and the most debated concepts for the politicians, economists, sociologists, development scientists and more recently journalists: of both developed and developing countries. It is not a flight of fancy, but delicately, the term ‘development’ has remained a popular contemporary issue and challenge in nationd as well as international spheres because of the persistence of underdevelopment om tions in the countries of Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean. Myrdal (1968) hs rightly viewed that ‘development’ means improvement of the host ‘of unlesirable cond tions in social systems that have perpetuated a state of underdevelopment.Development: An Overview 3 After reading this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Define development 2, Delineate the aim and objectives of developm: e ent 3. Explain the role and scope of seelupitets 4. Describe various factors influencing development Ifwe dissect the word ‘development’, it leads to two terms, i.e. ‘develop’ and ‘ment’, The dictionary meaning of the term ‘develop’ is ‘to grow’ or ‘to move to a more advanced state’. On the other hand, the meaning of the term ‘ment’ is ‘the process’ or ‘the action’. Thus, etymologically, development implies to the processes and actions that promote growth (economic) and take a nation to a more advanced state (in social, political, cul- tural and human terms). According to Myrdal (1968), development is the upward mové- ment of the whole social system by providing better living conditions, namely adequate food, better housing, improved facilities for health, education and training, and the gen- eral improvement of cultural facilities, which are all desirable. Todaro (1977) described development as a multidimensional process involving changes in structures, attitudes and institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reductions of inequal- ity and the eradication of absolute poverty. According to Preet and Hartrick (2009), devel- opment means making a better life for everyone. Development incorporates the diverse and broad aspirations of what might be called a ‘good life’ in all its economic, social and political dimensions (Cypher and Dietz 2009). AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT Development is a versatile concept and its basic aim is to raise the standard of living and the quality of life of the people through various interventions in different dimensions, such as economic, social, political, human, cultural and so on, through the balanced con- tribution of all the sectors and effective engagement of all the actors in the process. The important objectives of ‘development’ are'to reduce poverty, inequality, unemployment, illiteracy, ill-health and insanitation; to provide each individual and his or her family members with sustainable access to basic needs, such as healthy housing, safe drinking water, sanitation, primary education and primary health care services; and to make safe energy for cooking and surface and telecommunication facilities available to all. Countries that fail to provide all these basic amenities to its people irrespective of the caste, class, ethnicity, religion and gendet are basically categorized as underdeveloped. 1 Development projects and programmes should adopt appropriate participatory pro- cesses and strategies so that development becomes ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’—in other words, development of all through the participation of all (sab ka saath, sab ka vikas). The intention is to achieve holistic, inclusive and sustainable develop- ment in a secular, democratic and participatory way. :4 Issues and Challenges of Development ROLE AND SCOPE OF DEVELOPMENT Dimensions of Development Source: Author. Economic Development Cultural Political Development Development The role and scope of development are as follows: 1. Increasing the economic growth sate and the per capita income through structural transformation and the modernization of agriculture, industry and service sectors. Higher growth rate can be) achieved. by making investments in infrastructure, energy and technology. These are critical ingredients for the development of these three sectors and enablers of the enhancement of their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP)..The trickle-down effect of the GDP in developing coun- tries is helpful for the amelioration of the socio-economic conditions of the poor. Higher growth rate is desirable in developing countries if its benefits trickle down to the poor. However, if its benefits are accumulated among the rich, it is detri- mental to development with social justice. In other words, benefits of growth should be pro-poor, According to the trickle-down theory (Todaro 1997), economic growth is fayourable because economic gains from growth are transmitted to the poor through various means, such as favourable labour market conditions and improved service provisions by the government (e.g. health, schooling, infrastruc: ture etc,), The International Monetary Fund (IMF) advocates policies derived from an economic philosophy of strict adherence to market-oriented programmes COU" pled with an inherent belief that a ‘trickle down’ of benefits will occur?Development: An Overview § - Reducing poverty, unemployment and income inequalities in the economy through the implementation of various poverty eradication programmes, Such Programmes need to provide sustainable employment and income-generating Opportunities to the impoverished. Any rise in the income of the have-nots will curtail the income disparities between the haves and have-nots. Thus, policies should be centred at boosting the economy and promoting growth to improve living conditions of the people, eventually reducing poverty and improving the living conditions of the poor (Parel 2014). Besides, economic social and political disparities have to be synchronized through policy and programme measures. The key aim is to promote the well-being of the impoverished and raise their standard of living. For growth to be beneficial to the Poor, it must be associated with the creation of new jobs, thereby providing opportunities to the poor and aiding them in moving out of the agriculture sector (McKay and Sumner 2008). According to Melamed, Hartwig and Grant (2011), U]he key determinants of the relationship between growth, poverty reduction and inequality are whether economic growth generates new jobs, the quality of these jobs, whether poor people are able to take up new opportunities, and whether jobs are stable enough to last in the face of economic shocks; The benefits acquired through higher economic growth need to be spent for rais- ing the employment, income and well-being of the poor. . Increasing access to basic needs, i.e. food, clothing, shelter, safe drinking water and sanitation for all, and making the.right to basic needs a fundamental right. It is the duty of the state to consider basic needs as public good, and the government has to take responsibility to deliver them. as.essential items for human survival. Besides the public sector, the benevolent private and corporate sectors, through corporate social responsibilities, have to make provision of these services to the impoverished by adopting’ villagesand urban’ slums nearer to their vicinity. Jawaharlal Nehru once said, mniawony [Plolitical and economic theories and docttines are important as they are presum~ ably based on knowledge and experience. But if they are to be worthwhile, they have to satisfy basic human needs. It is pathetic that these basic human needs are ‘not satisfied in India and in many other countries. ngnttog Ba Boasting to have achieved high economic growth rate without making provision of adequate access to basic needs for all is socio-economically futile. . Removing illiteracy and increasing the level of primary, secondary and tertiary education. One of the developmental duties of developing countries is to make primary education universal and tertiary education available to all at affordable prices. Not only should primary education be made a fundamental right but also ensuring that children belonging to each andievery family receive primary educa- ° tion should be a fundamental duty of the citizens as well as of the government. The provision of adequate classrooms, educational aids, e-education facilities, play grounds, toilets, safe drinking water and nutritious mid-day meal; the appoint- ment of trained teachers; curtailment of teacher and student absenteeism; reduc- tion in student dropout rates and so on will go a long way to democratize basic and primary education in developing countries, Vocational and skill education6 Issues and Challenges of Development need to be an essential component of the school education system. It should be area specific, so that the students are educated and self-employed locally. The open and distance education systems must be strengthened in order to democratize secondary and tertiary education. Other cost-effective education systems intended to reach the unreached should be explored for the massification of education at all levels, Education is the king pin of development. Schavan (1998) observed that education will help the people to understand the ills of their society, develop a vision of a better world based on a conception of social justice and religious toler- ance, improve human rights, tackle poverty and reduce the spate of corruption in society. 5. Making primary health care accessible to all at the doorstep free of cost and making tertiary/referral health care facilities available at a reasonable distance at affordable prices. The objective is to check infant and maternal mortality rate, curtail the declining sex ratio and also to effectively control communicable and non- communicable diseases and morbidities of all kinds in all societies and across all communities and sexes. The health transition—teferring to the transformation of a society with high morbidity and mortality rates into one in which people stan- dardly live long, disease-free lives—has to be the central feature of significant social progress (Dreze and Sen 1995). The World Health Assembly in its historic ‘Alma Atta Declaration, 1978, advocated that the main social target for countries should be that all citizens of the world attain a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and'economically productive life. 6. Reducing hunger and malnutrition and ensuring at least two square meals in a day to each’and every family living below the poverty line: To launch various innova- tive schemes relating to hunger and malnutrition for the:prevention of hunger , «deaths and the control of nutritional anaemia among children and women. A malnourished woman will give birth to feeble children, who in future will become ~ malnourished parents.’ A sub-committee on Nutrition’"2000. of World Food Programme has noted that if the special nutritional needs of women and children are not met, then physical and psychological insults to individuals become a drag ‘on the development potential of entire houscholds for multiple generations. _ Hunger and hunger-related deaths are a curse on the society. ‘Food Security for All” is a desirable strategy for the abolition of food poverty and hunger from develop- ing countries. 7, Providing’ infrastructure’ facilities ‘such’ as ‘roads, renewable: and:non-renewable energy, telecommunication facilities, irrigation facilities and so on is sine qua non. » for improvement in the living conditions of the people. The provision of irrigation facilities for raising agricultural ‘productivity, construction of rural markets for the of the service sector in rural areas and, further, the establishment of rural industrial corridors and development for the generation of sustainable employment and income in rural’areas will go a long way in checking rural to urban migration and synchronizing the rural-urban divide. It will be helpful for the removal of rural poverty and distress from developing countries. ‘Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development, where physical infrastructure, in’ general, consists of two parts: economicinfrastructure such as’telecommunications, roads, irrigation andDevelopment: An Overview 7 electricity, and social infrastructure such as water supply, sewage system, hospitals and school facilities (Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny 1989). 8. Enhancing social networking among the different strata of society by the way of increased and improved access to social infrastructure and social capital. The construction of village panchayat houses, youth clubs, mahila mandals (women groups), cooperative societies, farmers’ clubs and so on will strengthen social networking. The cultural dimension must also be taken into consideration while the formulation of strategies of social networking in culturally sensitive tribal and rural areas. As a measute, the village-level organizations have to be encour- aged to promote cultural-specific foods, dance, local theatre, song, art, handi- crafts and other home-used items which will enable impoverished families to eke out a sustainable income and livelihood. Mahrey (2004) emphasized, [W]e need strong social institutions, strong families, and strong communities to thrive in a demanding global environment. We have to invest in people as a top priority, so that they feel secure and are able and willing to participate in our society and to face the challenges arising from constant change. 9. Empowering women, disabled and other marginalized sections. Removal of social and economic discrimination on the basis of gender, disability, caste and ethnicity is sine qua non for an inclusive society. The motto is to promote inclusive development and involve all in the process of development, All should be given opportunity and be made capable to contribute as per their ability. A welfare society is judged by how effectively and accountably it deals with the three groups of population at their time of needs: those who are in the dawn of life, its young; those in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those in their shad- ows of life, the disabled (Pattanaik 2000). The empowerment of marginalized is essential for the achievement of sustainable development goals in developing countries. i 10. Controlling population size and unwanted fertility among all irrespective of caste, class and religion and especially among the poor and vulnerable, those who are living below the poverty line, as lager family size reduces the per capita income and would dampen the socio-economic and human development of the family, society and the nation, The objective is to attain optimum population concomitant to economic growth and development. The endurance of poverty, unemployment and inequality in developing countries is largely due to popula- tion growth which will also have negative effects on environment and sustain- able development. In a speech delivered at Geneva in 1983, JRD. Tata while highlighting the urgency of population situation said that of the main causes of poverty, ill-health and misery which blight the life of billions of people on earth, ‘excessive population growth is the dominant one, and that of all the problems and tasks facing humanity, none is more urgent and has greater priority than that of reducing the birth rate as a first step towards saving the present and future generations from disaster (Tata 2004), The ICPD (1994) has encoded that ‘population related goals and policies are integral parts of cultural, economic and social development, the principal aim of which is to improve the quality of life of all people,’8 Issues and Challenges of Development ia: i 13. 14, Promoting happiness and well-being of all. The effective implementation of lang reform measures, sharing of resources and distribution of resources for bringing social justice are the needs of the hour. The principle should be ‘giving more to those who have less and extracting more from those who have more’. In other words, extracting more from the rich through taxation and distributing more to the poor through public expenditure on development programmes and schemes, Franklin D, Roosevelt once said, ‘[]he test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little’. The Gandhian principle is, ‘[WJorld has kept enough for human needs not for human greed.’ Good governance and preven. tion of corruption at all levels will bring happiness, i.e. achhe din (good days), in developing countries reeling under mal-governance. ; Striving to achieve sustainable development by maintaining functional balance between environment, economy and society. Society and the individual should not impose atrocities on the environment for meeting their gluttonous pres. ent needs by putting the fate of the future generations in danger and darkness, The economy should not formulate such policies and undertake those actions that can damage environment and jeopardize the peace and well-being of the future generations. The world is more sustainable when both present and future are more secure. UNICEF desires that sustainable development must balance the scales of equity on all fronts to break cycles of poverty and ensure that the children of today and tomorrow are able to have and inherit a livable, safe world.? Providing sustainable livelihood to all irrespective of the place of living such as urban and rural areas, hilly and plain areas and tribal and non-tribal areas; reduc- ing regional disparities by launching special development programmes for the backward regions. Inclusive and sustainable development can only be possible when the regional, sub-regional and grass-roots level disparities are controlled through policy and programme measures. Trends in regional disparities have been a major issue in regional science for many decades and the knowledge of ways to ‘overcome such disparities has great importance in regional policy-making. According to Rao (2010), inter- and intrastate disparities in development have not only persisted but have even increased in certain cases in the post-reform period in India, especially where backward regions do not have necessary political clout in decision-making regarding public investment and where the provision of jobs has led to regional tensions and persistent demand for carving out separate states consisting of backward areas. Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are some of the recent examples. The World Bank in its World Development Report has noted that, paradoxically, in a world which is rapidly globalizing, one of the most important determinants of well-being is still where a person is born: in which community, in what province within the country and whether in a city or the countryside within that province (World Development Report 2009). Empowering and energizing the sectors, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary, effectively by following judicious balanced and unbalanced approaches to play a1S. 16. 17. Development: An Overview 9 proactive role in dealing with various issues and challenges of development. It is seen that the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP in most of the transitional developing economies is teducing. Less emphasis on the agriculture sector will have a detrimental effect on the future generations, who may face hunger and food scarcity most probably in developing countries. On the other hand, the industry and service sectors need to be promoted for ensuring employ- ment to the youth and are crucial for sustainable development. The development must facilitate structural changes and shifting of workforce across the sectors based on the knowledge, skill and dexterities of the workforce. Empowering all the actors of development, i.e, public sector, private and corpo- rate sectors, international organizations, NGOs, CSOs and local self-government institutions, either individually or in partnership, so that they effectively con- tribute towards the holistic development of the economy. The public private partnership should not give rise to crony capitalism leading to corruption through middlemen. The scams that have taken place in India in the past several years show that they happened because of the strategic nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and corporate houses. The NGOs have to selflessly work for the social, economic, human and cultural development of the society. j Providing social security measures to the people working in the informal sector, and also to the aged, widowers and disabled, is a fundamental duty of the gov- emment. Across the world, the size of aging population is on the rise. Like in the ‘Western countries, old age homes have to be built both in rural and urban areas of developing countries for the well-being of the aged and destitute people. The corporate sector under corporate social responsibility can be engaged to carry out this benevolent measure. The role of NGOs and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) will go a long way in setting up of old age homes in rural as well as urban areas. The old age pension, scheme has to be effectively implemented with the help of local self-government institutions at the grass-roots level. In India, direct transfer of benefits through opening of bank accounts and AADHAAR cards, if implemented religiously, will go a long way in wiping out corruption and provid- ing social security and all other benefits to the poor. Development governance is sine qua non for developing countries, where a large percentage of money earmarked for the various development projects are plundered by the middlemen, bureaucratic functionaries and politicians. Good governance and removal of, corruption from the bureaucratic, political, social and economic sphere is an immediate and contemporary concern of developing coun- tries, The UNDP Human Development Report has aptly envisaged that each ele- ment of governance is both a means and goal of development, and lends insight into how. development efforts are succeeding (or not succeeding) in securing choices of the people of a nation. There is strong evidence that governance mat- ters significantly in accelerating development and in reducing poverty in devel- oping countries (Khan 2006). The key components of governance, i.e. political governance, economic governance, social governance and bureaucratic gover- nance, have to be, made effective through suitable policy and administrative reform measures, i Cole ve10 Issues and Challenges of Development Rede uakom bata ani DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT GOVERNANCE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. 3 5 i e 5 i 5 & PILLARS OF DEVELOPMENT Source: Author. y 18. Strengthening development administration and building up its capacity from time to time so that various issues and challenges of development can be effectively and efficiently faced. The honest and proactive role of bureaucracy is one of the factors behind the development of the countries such as Japan and South Korea: Bhambri (1980) was of the opinion that bureaucracy plays a decisive role in nation-building in modern societies and that the success or failure of various programmes of socio-economic development depends on its performance and capacity. 19. Development management must be one of the integral parts of the development actions and practices. Government, NGOs and PVOs involved ‘and engaged in the management of development projects and programmes have to aptly apply a systematic approach’to development project management'and should possess critical understanding of various components and dimensions of development management in order to deal effectively and efficiently with various develop- ment issues and challenges at all levels. Brinkerhoff and Coston (1999) were of the view that the term development management has widened its scope and is no longer restricted to the public sector; for instance, a development manager can be an NGO staffer, members of the community groups and business people as well as civil servants (quoted in Saifullah 2001); 20. Developing countries facing the challenges of financial, ‘physical and human resource deficiencies have to adopt development planning at least at the grass-roots level for the judicious and effective utilization of various resources.’To Marcellus (2009), development planning comprehensively involves predetermining nation’s visions, missions, policies and programmes in all facets of life such as social, human, political, environmental, technological factors and so on and the means of | ' | | | |21. 22. 23. 24. Development: An Overview 11. achieving them. The planning also needs to cover other four essential aspects such as appraisal, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment so that accountability and responsibility are fixed for the delay in the completion of planned develop- ment activities, projects and programmes and wastage of resources at various levels. Adhering to an ethical approach to development so that the rich contribute towards the well-being of the poor, In other words, development philanthropy needs to be an inherent component of the development process and strategies in developing countries. In the words of JRD Tata, (ndustrial enterprise, whether in the private or the public sector, can and could do much within their means to improve the conditions of life of the surrounding Population, relieve distress where it exists, help find work for the unemployed and extend a helping hand to those who need it. He further advocated, , [let industry be established in the countryside ‘adopt’ the villages in their neighbor- hood; let some of the time of its managers, its engineers, doctors and skilled special- ists be spared to help and advise the people of the villages and to supervise new developments undertaken by cooperative effort between them and the company. Developing Countries, where a large number of people are illiterate and the level of education is low, have to formulate a well-planned development communica- tion strategy in various sectors. It is required for the effective implementation of various projects and programmes. The aim of development communication is to provide development education on various sectoral activities, programmes, proj- ects and their objectives, possible beneficiaries and other modus operandi to the people through effective non-formal and extension education methods. It will be helpful to the beneficiaries to effectively participate in the implementation pro- cess of the development projects, programmes, schemes and activities. The ulti- mate goal of ‘development communication’ is to raise the quality of life of populations, including increasing income and well-being, eradicating social injustice, promoting land reform and freedom of speech and establishing com- munity centres for leisure and entertainment (Melkote 1991). The success and failure of most development projects are often determined by two crucial factors, i.e. communication and people's involvement (Fraser and Restrepo Estrada 1998). Strengthening development education, research and training so that continuous feedback is available to the planners, policy-makers and executives to design and formulate appropriate development programmes and projects. It will also be helpful in the formulation of appropriate development strategies at the national, state and grass-roots levels. The universities and the centre for development stud- ies established by the public and. private sectors must undertake fundamental and concurrent research on development issues and challenges. : Judicious application of theoretical principles advocated by the classical, neo- classical, developmentalist and heterodox social scientists in the concurrent development approaches and strategies is essential in order to increase economic growth and development. In other words, the importance of development theo- ries and paradigms cannot be belittled in the formulation of development approaches and strategies in developing countries.12 _ Issues and Challenges of Development ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT Identification of various issues and challenges of development is an arduous task. However, it is a fact that developing countries have been confronting various issues and challenges for centuries. They are struggling to achieve holistic development and making endeavours to ensure good quality of life to its population. Moreover, most of them are under tremen. dous pressure to tackle various issues and challenges of development in order to make their development process inclusive and sustainable, The issues and challenges, which most of developing countries and even some developed countries are facing, can be broadly categorized as (a) fundamental issues and challenges, (b) economic development issues and challenges, (©) sectoral issues and challenges, (d) social and human development issues and challenges, (e) emerging issues and challenges and (f) concurrent issues and challenges, FUNDAMENTAL Issues AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT One of the fundamental objectives of development is to raise the quality of life of its pop- ulation. The minimum quality of life depends on the access to basic needs. It is observed that majority of population in developing countries are deprived of access to basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. They also lack access to other basic amenities, i.e. safe drinking water, sanitation and energy for cooking and lighting. All these variables of basic needs constitute important determinants of the poverty. measurement index in many developing, countries. The basic needs approach has formed an integral part of the socio-economic and human development agenda of developing countries from the begin- ning and many international organizations and particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) has still been using the concept actively in their work. Besides basic needs, poverty, existing in various relative forms in both developed and developing coun- tries, is one of the fundamental challenges that has existed for centuries. It has to be cur- tailed and removed from the earth at the earliest. As long as there is poverty, there will be underdevelopment. Poverty acts as insulin to underdevelopment.. The - Austrian Development Cooperation has viewed that the reduction of poverty is one of the greatest challenges of our times.* The third most important issue which poses fundamental chal- Jenge to the development of developing countries is population growth. Unbridled popu- lation growth in many of developing countries isa vital source of augmentation of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Households with a large family size and low income are found to have poor access to basic needs and other household amenities, Moreover, pop- ulation growth in developing countries is also posing surmountable challenges to envi- ronment and sustainable development. UNFPA has recognized that population dynamics have a significant influence on sustainable development and efforts to promote sustain- able development that do not address population dynamics will continue to fail” Economic Issues AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT The important economic issues and challenges which developing countries are facing for centuries are income inequality, unemployment and inflation. Because of high popula- tion growth rate in developing countries, the percentage of adult population in the totalDevelopment: An Overview 13 population is high in these countries as compared to the developed countries. The number of people aspiring for jobs and employment is increasing in a geometric proportion, while the availability of employment opportunities is growing in an arithmetic proportion, leading to unemployment, disguised unemployment and underemployment in develop- ing countries. The governments in developing countries are under tremendous pressure to provide employment to its burgeoning youth. There is unbridled growth of informal employment in developing countries both in rural and urban areas. The life in the infor- mal sector is dull, dump and monotonous. The wage rate is low and there is no provision of job and social security. The economic dualisms, e.g. formal and informal sectors, agri- cultural and industrial sectors, rural and urban sectors and so on, are stimulating factors that increase income inequality across the sectors. The poor are the drawers of the water and hewers of the wood and are still struggling to eke out a minimum level of living. In contrast, the rich eat from silver spoons, stay in palatial buildings, use flashy cars and possess all household gadgets required for comfort and luxury. The economic disparities between the rich and poor have further increased with the continuous price rise (inflation) of the basic necessary food items, i.e. rice, wheat,’ dal (pulses), oil and other grocery items, and of staple vegetables such as potatoes, onions and tomatoes. These have also shaken the backbone of the poor people living below the pov- erty line and of those who are at the border line of the above poverty line (APL) families in developing countries. Most of developing ‘countries have not been successful enough to provide basic necessities to their population at affordable prices, thereby leading to miseries like hunger and malnutrition. Todaro/and Smith (2012) see economic develop- ment in terms of the reduction or elimination of poverty; inequality and unemployment within the context of a growing economy. Sector Issves AND CHALLENGES OF DevELOPMENT Every economy comprises three sectors, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The primary sector largely refers to agriculture and its allied activities such as poultry, fishery, diary and piggery. The secondary sector broadly comprises industrial and manufacturing activities: The tertiary sector refers to all other activities which do not fall under the pri- mary and the secondary. sectors. The tertiary: sector is otherwise known as the service sector which comprises education, health, banking, insurance, information technology and tourism to name a few fields among many. The development activities largely revolve around these three key sectors. The GDP, which is an indicator of economic development, depends on the contribution of these three sectors. The contribution of the service sector to the GDP in the developed countries is quite high as compared to developing countries. In many developing countries, agriculture is the mainstay of majority of its population, although its contribution to the GDP is declining. In a few developing countries, the contribution of the service sector to the GDP. is on the rise per se India. The Africa Human Development Report, 2012, has envisaged that increased agricu- Itural productivity would end the ravages of hunger and malnutrition and will nurture capabilities and conditions for human development.’ The challenge before developing countries is to raise the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP as the food habits and lifestyle of the people living in the countryside of developing countries has not14 _Isswes and Challenges of Development it has happened in er Western counties, ening countries cannot afford to neglect the agriculture sector. However, Peerraihon oleate and structural changes are the need of the hour for develop. ing countries to achieve higher growth rate. For the development of developing countries, the transfer of manpower from the primary to the secondary and tertiary sectors is vital for economic and social changes and development in these countries. The structuralists were of the view that as the process of economic development proceeds, the share of the agricultural sector in national income and employment—which was typically high in the early stages of development—will begin to decline and that of the non-agricultural sectors will experience a rise (Joshi 2008). adequately changed and modernized as i Sociat. AND HtuMAN DeveLopmenT Issues AND CHALLENGES Social and human development are important dimensions of development. The economic development depends on the social and human development.’ A nation cannot achieve higher economic growth rate and holistic development if large number of its population is illiterate, unskilled, morbid and systematically discriminated in the social sphere and labour market. Social discrimination on the basis of caste, class, ethnicity and gender is one of the important factors contributing to the prevalence of economic disparities in develop- ing countries. Systematic marginalization of some group of population in all spheres such as economic, political and cultural is an inherent social feature of many developing coun- tries. Therefore, any discussion on development will be considered as incomplete if it fails to assign importance to social and human development issues and challenges. The two key determinants of social and human development are education and health. The level of education and health status has to be improved in developing coun- tries. It is not a flight of fancy, but delicately, the contribution of educated, skilled and healthy population to economic growth and development is higher as compared to their counterpart illiterate, morbid and unskilled population./ UNDP. (1990) stated, that “{Hjuman development is a process of enlarging the people's choices. The most critical of these wide-ranging choices are to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard living.’ Therefore, the state, civil society and market can create opportunities for social action and for expanding human capabili- ties (Sen 1999). Cohen (1994) noted that human resources development and utilization are regarded as the means to meet basic human needs and to contribute to overall devel- opment by reducing fertility; by transmitting cultural, religious, political and technologi- cal values and by preserving national identity, cohesiveness and stability. Emercine Issues AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT A wide range of issues have been emerging in the context of developin; ies i to pull them from the spectre of underdevelopment and drive Recents of development. The vital inputs that can accelerate the pace of development in the under- developed countries are infrastructure, energy and technology. Developing countries have poor infrastructure facilities that not only prevent the public sector investment in various sectors but also do not cajole the private sector investments and FDIs in these countries. The infrastructure facilities such as housing, water and sanitation, roads, irrigation, dams,! | i ' : : ) | Development: An Overview 15 telecommunications, electricity and other renewable sources of energy and market com- plexes are essential elements of development. Estache (2006) from the World Bank study has rightly remarked that infrastructure seems to be returning to the agenda of the devel- opment of economists. He was of the view that growth is constrained by infrastructure bottlenecks in several developing countries and proposed that the poorest countries need to spend 9% of their GDP on the operation, maintenance and expansion of infrastructure. Sustainable and affordable energy for all purposes including household purposes is an arduous challenge, and energy production and pricing politics are very popular in many developing countries. Third, undeveloped countries are featured with poor technological advancement. The application of traditional technology in the agriculture sector and the poor technological advancement in the industrial and the service sectors is affecting their economic growth and development. Bannon and Roodman (2004) were of the view that tich countries arguably make their single greatest contribution to long-run development in poor countries by creating new technologies, as both producers and consumers and people in developing countries benefit from technological advancement. They suggested that government investment in new technologies can enhance life throughout the world. The other two vital issues that effectively emerged in developing countries, particu- larly after they joined in the globalization process, are inclusive and sustainable develop- ment. The rising disparities between the poor and the rich, skilled and unskilled workforce and among the various regions of a nation-state and finally among the different sections of population across the caste, class, ethnicity and gender are a concern for developing countries. Inclusive development advocates that any systematic exclusion and discrimi- nation of a certain group of population in the social, human, political, cultural and eco- nomic development processes is a gross violation of human rights and is detrimental to social justice and inclusive development. However, despite several affirmative measures formulated and implemented by various countries, exclusion exists egregiously more par- ticularly in developing countries impeding a participatory development process in these countries. Besides inclusive development, sustainable development has become an emerg- ing concern for developing countries. The international organizations as well as the devel- oped nations of the West are putting tremendous pressure on developing countries to maintain a balance between the society, economy and ecology to save mother earth and ensure its people have sustainable livelihood in the present and also by securing a safe and sustainable livelihood for the future generations. : In the Rio+20 Outcome Document (2012), UNIDO has envisaged that we recognize that people are at the centre of sustainable development and in this regard, t wwe strive for a world which is just equitable and inclusive and we commit to work together to promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development, environmental protection and thereby to benefit all. H f 4 Concurrent Issues AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT Many issues concurrently. coexist for centuries with the birth of developing countries mostly after the Second World War, These issues and challenges in developing countries are consistently disturbing the minds of the planners and policy-makers. The two prominent among them are the issues and challenges with regard to the rural and urban development,