One of my friends, Priyadarshan Shete says, “When progess of the nation is equated with quantum of cars sold, factories running at 100% capacity etc nothing better should be expected.”

This set me thinking, that yes, the progress of a nation is always the number of cars sold, factories running day and night to produce products which might or might not really be the essentials of life.

So if any positive change is to be seen, what parameters will be important to measure a country’s progress. Can we move from consumption driven economy to a sustainable economy? 

Here are a few parameters –

1. Organic farming – it is being practiced but in pockets. Can efforts be made to make it more prevalent and popular? How can we replace chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers like compost manure or green manure? In such farming it is very important to follow the practice of crop rotation and companion planting. 

Crop rotation – it is a practice for growing different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. In this case the soil of farms is not used for only one set of nutrients. This reduces soil erosion and increases crop yield. While companion planting is growing different kinds of crops in close proximity which results in increase in crop productivity.

I feel, the above two practices in agriculture can go a long way in rolling back the damage due to the usage of chemical fertilizers.

2.Going further, it will be more important to strengthen the medical field, yes, maybe more than the military. How many hospitals per 1000 citizens will be and should be a very important parameter.

3. Agriculture itself should replace manufacturing industry as an essential field for measuring a country’s progress. Number of hectares under productive cultivation should be more important than the numbers of any non-essential product produced.

 4.Since man needs cars and trucks for personal and goods transportation, these have to be produced. But we will need to fast track the electric transportation to reduce dependence on crude oil. In turn this will reduce air pollution. 

5. Eliminate the torture of animals and birds. This is one of the tasks requiring lots of planning and different methods of implementation as a huge lot of humans eat them for sustenance. The biggest culprit has been converting it into an industry where the animals and birds are treated in the most obnoxious manner.

6  Same is the case with the dairy industry. In both these cases, it was the need for fast availability and huge quantities, that drove both industries to this blatant exploitation. Both these should never have been an industry, but no one is ready to wait patiently for their piece of pie.

7.Make poaching a non-bailable offence with the strictest punishment. Why should somebody’s body part become your accessory or aphrodisiac?

8. And there might be many such steps which can be taken to make Earth liveable again.

But will anyone pay attention to this once the present danger diminishes. I am no expert but a common layman and most would just laugh this off.

However I have no doubt that whoever takes the leadership position to change the world for the better will be the leader of the future.

Yatindra Tawde