Archive · 12 Sep 2026
Economic Growth and Ecological Balance Must Reinforce One Another
People have often measured progress by how much money a country makes.
This has helped create jobs, hospitals, schools, and better roads.
But economic growth can also harm forests, water, animals, and the climate.
The article says GDP does not show these environmental costs.
Some people believe new technology can make growth cleaner.
Others believe the planet cannot support endless growth.
The author suggests using materials again and again instead of throwing them away.
India is trying to grow while expanding solar power and green energy.
The article says true progress should improve human lives while protecting nature and all living beings.
The article argues that GDP alone cannot measure genuine progress because it overlooks environmental damage and natural capital.
It calls for replacing the linear “exploit-produce-dispose” model with a circular economy based on recovery, recycling, and reuse.
Growth optimists support technological innovation, while ecological economists warn that unlimited growth is impossible on a finite planet.
India faces drought, soil erosion, and severe water stress, but is also expanding solar power and pursuing green hydrogen.
Drawing on the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the article says progress should serve people, animals, and the wider natural world.
- Who
- The article was written by Ashish A. Wakankar, whose views are described as personal; it discusses governments, businesses, individuals, and all living beings as stakeholders.
- What
- It examines whether economic growth and higher living standards can coexist with ecological balance and argues for more responsible, inclusive definitions of progress.
- When
- The article was originally published in Forum Views in August 2026.
- Where
- The discussion is global, with particular attention to India and its Viksit Bharat 2047 ambition.
- Why
- Because economic activity has contributed to pollution, habitat loss, biodiversity decline, water stress, greenhouse-gas emissions, and increasingly common extreme weather.
Growth and Technology Optimists
Ecological Economists
Can prosperity be separated from environmental harm?
Growth and Technology Optimists
Technological advances in renewable energy, electric mobility, artificial intelligence, and resource-efficient manufacturing may decouple economic prosperity from environmental degradation.
Ecological Economists
Infinite economic growth is impossible on a finite planet, so economies must operate within ecological limits.
What should the goal be?
Growth and Technology Optimists
Economic growth remains important because it can expand employment, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and living standards.
Ecological Economists
Growth should be fundamentally redefined so that it protects natural systems and does not treat environmental damage as an acceptable cost.
Who should bear responsibility?
Growth and Technology Optimists
Governments, industries, and individuals should cooperate through technology sharing and wider adoption of clean energy.
Ecological Economists
Sustainability efforts must also address unequal historical resource use, uneven development, consumption patterns, and the differing priorities of developed and developing economies.
- Author
- Ashish A. Wakankar
- Original publication
- Forum Views, the publication of the Bombay Stock Exchange Brokers’ Forum
- Publication date
- August 2026
- India’s solar capacity
- More than 157 GW, described as approximately 29% of total electricity-generating capacity
- India’s non-fossil power share
- More than 52% of the national power mix
- Water stress in India
- Approximately 600 million people face high to extreme water stress, according to NITI Aayog
- India’s development goal
- To become a developed nation by 2047
- Green hydrogen
- The National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to position India as a global leader in clean-energy production